


A Drop of Magic

by dimensionhoppingrose



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, HP AU, Harry Potter AU, Hogwarts AU, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-07-28 13:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7642993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/dimensionhoppingrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their first meeting wasn't in the halls of the great castle, but in a dusty, forgotten corner of Flourish and Blotts. “Are you bored too?” He asked, and when she nodded he took her hand and said one word: “Run."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Year One

**Author's Note:**

> A Hogwarts AU! I was inspired by "The Cursed Child" and it just a little away from me.

Their first meeting wasn't in the halls of the great castle, but in a dusty, forgotten corner of Flourish and Blotts.

Poor Jackie Tyler was understandably overwhelmed, even with the help of someone from Hogwarts. She had suspected for a long time that her daughter had inherited her late husband's magical gifts – cookie jars didn't just fly off the refrigerator on their own, after all, and Rose always swore she had no idea how the dollie had ended up in her pocket even after Jackie said no and put it back on the shelf – but it wasn't until the letter had come, accompanied by the professor who was there to help the poor Muggle with her young witch daughter, that Jackie's suspicions had been confirmed.

And now they were at Diagon Alley, getting everything Rose would need for her first year at Hogwarts. They were at the bookstore, and Rose was _bored_. She wandered away, into the back of the store, where the crowd was thinner and the books were clearly not as well cared for. This was a part of the bookstore that didn't get much attention, obviously.

She turned around a corner...and walked smack dab into a boy. “Oops!” She stumbled back quickly, tripping over her feet. “Sorry!”

He was a sullen boy, at least six inches taller than tiny Rose,  wearing a leather jacket over a t-shirt. Honestly, he was a little frightening, and Rose was sure he was going to say something nasty to her.

So she was quite surprised when all he said was, “It's okay. What're you doing back here?”

“What are _you_ doing back here?” Rose countered in a fit of bravery, and the boy laughed.

“Are you bored too?” “Are you bored too?” He asked, and when she nodded he took her hand and said one word: “ _Run_.”

And with that, they ran out of the store together, and for a moment Rose felt guilty about abandoning her mother, but then they were out on the cobblestone walkway and the guilt was replaced with _freedom_. Now she could really explore, just like she'd been wanting to do all day.

“What's your name?” She asked the boy as they walked along.

“I'm John. Yours?”

“Rose.”

“Is your mum the one with Professor Sinistra?” Rose nodded. “So you're a Muggle-born?”

“I guess my dad was a wizard, but he died when I was a baby.” Rose shrugged. “And he didn't have any other family so they sent someone to help my mum.  What about you? Is it your first year too?”

“Second. And I'm a pure blood.” He didn't say it with any air of superiority, just stating a fact. Rose was more interested in his first statement, however.

“So you've _been_ to Hogwarts already?” John nodded. “What's it like? Is it big? Professor Sinistra said it's a castle but is it _really_ a castle? What does she teach anyways, I wanted to ask but Mum kept interrupting me. What house are you in? What do the houses even _mean_ , I don't get it, why is everybody split up? Is it like teams? Can I really bring a cat, do other people have cats? Mum said I could get a cat because I've always wanted one, but will it be weird if I bring a cat?”

“Jeez, okay, slow down,” John said, steering her toward an ice cream shop. “Um, yeah, it's pretty big. It's really a castle. Sinistra teaches Astronomy. What kind of ice cream do you want?”

“What?” Rose blinked. “Oh, I – I don't have any extra money for ice cream–”

“I'll pay. What do you want?”

Rose wanted to say no...but she _really_ wanted ice cream. “Chocolate,” she finally said. “Thank you.”

John ordered a couple of ice cream cones for them and they started down the street again while John continued to answer Rose's barrage of questions.

“I'm in Slytherin. Everyone says it's a bad house but don't listen to them, it's alright. Some of the people in it are jerks but every House has bad people. There's four Houses for each of the four founders – Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Supposedly it's split by personality traits – Gryffindors are brave, Ravenclaws are smart, Hufflepuffs are loyal, and Slytherins are ambitious. I guess it's kind of like teams? You can earn points for your House and the House with the most points gets the House Cup at the end of the year. Yeah, you can really bring a cat, a lot of people have cats. A few girls in my year have them, it was pretty funny last year they kept getting into fights with one another.”

“So the cats can just run free? They don't have to stay cooped up in a room?”

“Nah, they can go wherever they want, you just gotta be careful that they don't get into fights with other cats. Madam Pomfrey doesn't _mind_ fixing up cats but she gets cross about.”

“Who's that?”

“Oh, she's the school nurse. She's nice enough but she's really strict and lectures you if you do something stupid to get yourself hurt. She _hates_ the Quidditch teams.”

“What's Quidditch?”

“It's our sport – oh, here.” John grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her into a store. Rose's mouth dropped when she saw the broomsticks lining the walls. “This is the Quidditch supply store, there's a book here about it somewhere...”

He pulled Rose past rows of balls – she had to stop for a moment to stare weirdly at two big black balls straining to get out of their bindings – to the back of the room, finding the book he was looking for and flipping it open to page with a moving picture. Rose watched in awe as a bunch of people flew around on broomsticks, a few of them throwing a big red ball to each other while four players with clubs chased the black balls around the field.

“Okay, so those guys–” He pointed to the ones with the red ball, “are called Chasers. The red ball is a Quaffle, they throw that through those three golden hoops at the end of the field to earn ten points for their team. The goals are guarded by Keepers. Those ones–” He pointed to the ones with the clubs, “are Beaters. The black balls are called Bludgers, they fly around the field trying to knock people off their brooms, and the Beaters defend their teams and hit the Bludgers toward other players. And that guy–” He pointed to the player flying high above everyone else, “is the Seeker. He tries to catch the Snitch – you won't see that in this picture, it's too small. The person who catches the Snitch ends the game and earns one-hundred and fifty points for his team. The team that catches the Snitch almost always wins.”

Rose's eyes were wide as she watched the picture. It looked _amazing_. “Oi.” They looked up to see the shop owner standing over them. “You two John and Rose?” They nodded. “Your parents are outside looking for you. Go on.”

“Oops,” John mumbled, quickly putting the book back, and they left. Jackie was out there with Professor Sinistra and a brown-haired woman.

“ _Rose_! What did I tell you about wandering off?” Jackie demanded as Rose ran over to her.

“Mum, Mum, Mum, I wanna play Quidditch!”

“Play what?” Jackie asked, annoyance fading into hopeless confusion.

“It's a wizarding sport,” Professor Sinistra explained to Jackie with a patient smile before turning to Rose. “First years can't have brooms, sweetheart. You'll have to wait until next year.”

Rose pouted, disappointed, and looked over at John. The brown-haired woman was scolding him thoroughly for wandering off. “Sorry Aunt Sarah,” he mumbled. He caught Rose's eye, however, giving her a quick grin that she instantly returned.

At least she'd have one friend.

* * * * * * * * *

“So we just...walk at the wall?” Jackie asked, staring blankly at the wall between platforms nine and ten. They'd arrived at King's Cross nearly an hour early, and had been staring at the wall for twenty minutes. Rose's cat, Luna, was yowling in her cage, distinctly displeased about her confinement.

“I guess so?” It seemed mad, and Rose was sure they were going to look like idiots when they ran into the wall. “You go first.”

“Rose!”

Her eyes lit up and she whirled around to see John and his aunt coming toward them. While Rose's cat was largely ignored, the big, red-feathered owl sitting on top of John's trunk was getting plenty of attention.

“Hi John!” Rose said happily as Jackie gave the boy a rather mistrusting look. She hadn't quite forgiven him for leading Rose away from Flourish and Blotts. “Do you know how to get onto the platform?”

“Yeah, you just run at the wall.” He said it so simply, so naturally, it might have been the most normal thing in the world.

“...Really?”

“Sure, watch me.” He looked back at Sarah Jane, who nodded, took the cart with his trunk and owl, waited for a break in the crowd, and ran at the wall. Rose watched, shocked, as he disappeared.

“Don't be afraid,” Sarah Jane advised Rose gently. “And don't hesitate. Just run at the wall. I promise you'll be okay.”

Rose nodded, taking a deep breath and taking control of her cart. A moment of preparation, and she ran at the wall, trying to have confidence. She could do this, she could do this...the wall was so close...she was going to crash...

She hit the wall and kept going, straight onto the platform on the other side, where a scarlet train was billowing smoke and waiting. Students and their families were already milling on the other side, and John was waiting for Rose.

“Better move, Sarah Jane and your mum are probably coming through.”

Rose quickly moved off to the side, just as Sarah led Jackie through the wall. Jackie looked around, wide-eyed.

“Blimey.”

“Come on, let's get a compartment before they fill up,” John told Rose, and the group headed for the train. Jackie and Sarah helped them get their trunks into an empty compartment, and they all stepped out again. As soon as they were back on the platform Jackie pulled Rose into a bone-crushing hug.

“Oh I'm going to miss you,” she mumbled, holding Rose tight. “Be safe. Write me every week. That professor said the school has owls you can borrow.”

“I will, I will,” Rose assured Jackie, hugging her tight as well. In eleven years they'd never spent more than a couple nights apart.

This was going to be hard.

“Stay out of trouble,”  Rose heard Sarah Jane saying to John.

“I _will_.”

“No more experimenting and mixing potions just to see what'll happen.”

“I won't.”

“ _Promise_ , John.”

“I _promise_ I won't mix potions together just to see what happens.”

A few kids called hi to John as they walked by, and Rose pulled away from Jackie to look around again, realizing for the first time how many people there were.

And she was really glad she knew _someone_ already.

“Alright, you two better get one,” Sarah Jane said, and Jackie pulled Rose in for one last hug.

“I'll see you at Christmas,” she said, bending down to press a kiss to Rose's forehead. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Mum. I'll be okay. Promise.”

They got onto the train together, going to their compartment, which looked out onto the platform. Jackie followed the train along as it started out of the station, eyes locked on Rose the entire time. Rose put on a smile, not wanting her to worry, and waved until they turned a corner and Jackie fell out of sight.

“How long until we get there?” Rose asked John as he settled into his seat, and she sat across from him, letting Luna out of her cage. The cat hopped off the seat and began exploring and stretching her legs.

“Hours. Wanna play Exploding Snap?”

“What's that?”

John spent the first few hours of the journey teaching Rose about Exploding Snap, Gobstones, and Wizard Chess. Rose was awful at all three, but she had a fun. When the trolley woman came around, John bought enough snacks for both of them.

“Don't eat anything yet,” he warned Rose as they spread out the snacks on one of the empty seats. “Some of it's dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Rose repeated. “How?”

“Like – Like these.” He held up a package of jelly beans. “Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. You gotta be _really_ careful with these, I got a garbage-flavored one once. Disgusting. Oh, these are okay though, here.” He threw a box to Rose and she read the label. _Chocolate Frog_.

“Is it...like a real frog?”

“Nah, just solid chocolate. They come with trading cards though, you know, of different witches and wizards. Lemme know if you get Babayaga, I'll trade you for one of my five Harry Potters.” He rolled his eyes, opening a package of his own. “Damn it, not Dumbledore again. What'd you get?”

“Um...Helga Hufflepuff. Is she one of the school founders?”

“Yeah, there should be a little history blurb about her on the back. Here.” He handed her the Dumbledore card. “I've got eight of him. I have a spare book at home if you want, I can ask Sarah Jane to send it so you can start collecting for real.”

When it came time to change into their robes they took turns waiting on the hall so the other could have privacy. While Rose's robes were plain black, she saw that John's had a patch on them – a green and silver crest with a snake on it.

“Will my robe get a patch on it too?”

“Yeah, when you get Sorted you'll get your House crest.”

“Do you think I'll be in Slytherin too?” Honestly, she hoped she was. She didn't want to be in a different house than her only friend.

“Probably not.” John sounded pretty sure of that, but the train stopped before Rose could question why, and a voice announced that they were to leave their belongings on the train and go out onto the platform. Rose scooped Luna up and kissed her head before packing her away once more, promising to see her soon, and she followed John out onto the platform.

“You gotta go with Hagrid,” John said, pointing her toward a rather large man who was calling for all first years. “You guys go to the castle separately. I'll see you later.”

Rose threw her arms around John in a quick hug before hurrying toward the big man. She crowded into a boat with three other people, tripping and falling into a black girl's lap.

“Oops, sorry,” Rose groaned as she picked herself up, and the girl smiled.

“It's okay. You alright?”

“Yeah.” Rose collapsed next to the girl. “I'm Rose, what's your name?”

“Martha. Nice to meet you.”

The boats started forward on Hagrid's command, and Rose looked around. It was mostly dark, and she could just make out trees around them.

“So what House do you think you'll be in?” Martha asked curiously. “My whole family keeps saying I'll be in Ravenclaw.”

“Oh, I don't know,” Rose mumbled. Martha tilted her head.

“Are you Muggle-born?”

“No – sort of. I guess I'm half-blood, my dad was a wizard but he died when I was a baby. I don't really know anything about this.”

“I'm a half-blood too! My mum's a witch, Dad's a Muggle. Mum was Gryffindor, but she says I'm too smart to be anything but Ravenclaw.”

Hagrid called that Hogwarts was just around the bend, and Martha and Rose abandoned their conversation in favor of joining everyone in looking.

A chorus of “ _Oooooooooooooh!”'_ s echoed across the boats as the castle came into sight, and Rose's eyes went wide. It was... _beautiful_.

Things moved rather fast after that. In almost no time at all they were at the castle, and then they were being led into the Great Hall – a huge room with four long tables, where students were already sitting. The Houses, Rose supposed. Rose tried to find John, but everyone looked the same in the black robes, and finally she gave up to focus on the singing Hat.

Names were called out alphabetically, and Rose suddenly hated her last name for being so far down on the list. She was left alone when “ _Jones, Martha_ ” was called, and Martha headed up to the stool, sitting down and allowing the hat to settle on her head.

“ _Ravenclaw_!”

Martha looked quite pleased as she hopped down and headed for the clapping table. Rose bounced anxiously, waiting through all the names...

And yet somehow when “ _Tyler, Rose_ ” was called, she wasn't prepared. She tripped over robes as she hurried up to the stool, sitting down and gripping the edges hard as the hat was lowered onto her head.

She was just a little disappointed when the Hat called, “ _Gryffindor_!”

* * * * * * * * *

By the end of her first week, Rose was convinced everyone had made a mistake – the hat for putting her in Gryffindor and the school staff for thinking she belonged here. She was _awful_. Her first Charms lesson saw her somehow shooting her own wand out of her hand and hitting the professor smack dab in the middle of his forehead, leaving a large welt in its wake, and she melted a cauldron during Potions.

And she was _lonely_. She saw Martha during Charms, which was nice, but she didn't have friends in any of her other lessons and she hadn't quite managed to make friends with the girls she shared a dorm with. She had tried, but two of them had already bonded with each other, and the third was clearly awkward and spent all her time reading. It didn't leave much room for Rose.

So by the end of the week she was ready to cry. After her last class on Friday she went straight to the dorm, not even bothering with dinner, and threw her bag at the wall before collapsing into bed. No one else was back yet, and she was glad. She just wanted to be alone.

So when she heard a tapping at the window she was deeply inclined to just ignore it, and would have done so if it hadn't continued for nearly three minutes. Finally she lifted her head to see a familiar, red-feathered owl tapping at the window. She opened it quickly, taking the letter it offered her and gave it a quick scritch. Her name was scrawled on the front of the envelope, and she opened it, pulling out the letter inside.

_What're you doing tomorrow?_

Rose looked up to see the owl was still waiting, clearly expecting a reply, so she found a piece of parchment and a quill to write a quick reply.

_Nothing. I have a lot of extra homework. Why?_

She folded it up and scribbled John's name on the piece of parchment, giving it back to the owl. It flew off, and Rose changed out of her robes and began unpacking her bag, figuring she would get a reply soon.

And she was right.

 _Meet me under the big tree by the lake. Bring your homework, I'll help_.

The prospect of seeing a friendly face cheered Rose up greatly, and she wrote back a quick confirmation, suddenly eager for the next day.

* * * * * * * * *

Rose wanted to go straight to the lake the next morning, but skipping dinner the night before had caught up to her and she was _starving_ , so she went down to breakfast before heading out to the lake. John was already there, reading a book, and she grinned as she plopped down next to him.

“Hi!”

He looked up, grinning back. “Hello. Good first week?”

Of course, he _would_ ask about that. Rose's smile dropped like a rock and her shoulders hunched up as she muttered, “ _No_. It was awful. I think they made a mistake letting me in.”

“They don't make mistakes. What happened?”

Rose really didn't want to explain it, but she did anyways, waiting for John to laugh or judge her. He didn't, though.

“I melt cauldrons all the time, that's not a big deal. What were you guys doing, I bet I can figure out what you did wrong.”

“Do you?” Rose asked hopefully. “'Cause I'm supposed to write an essay about it and I have no idea what I did.”

“Yeah, lemme see.”

Rose pulled out her book and John perused the potion they'd been working on, finally circling a part and making a few notes with his quill. “It sounds like you forgot to add the spider legs and forgot stir it. It's the small things…”

They spent the afternoon under the tree, writing Rose's essay together, and he helped her practice Charms, pointing out, as the professor had, that she was waving her wand too hard.

“You need to be gentler, you're swinging it around like it's a sword. Like this, see?” He pulled out his own wand to demonstrate, and Rose frowned as she tried to copy him.

When the sun started to set they headed back inside. “Could you help me send a letter?” Rose asked, a little embarrassed. She wasn't really sure how borrowing a school owl worked.

“Yeah, let's get food first though. I'm hungry.”

They separated in the Great Hall, going to the respective tables, and Rose ate quickly. She hated eating in the Great Hall if she was honest – she always ate alone. It was depressing.

Once they were done, she and John went up to the Owlery together. John picked out an owl while Rose wrote a letter to her mother, and he showed her how to tie it to the owl's leg before sending it off out the window.

“And it'll know where to find her?” Rose asked as they headed downstairs together.

“Yeah, they're _really_ smart. They can find anyone.”

They separated to head to their own common rooms, and Rose found herself wishing again that she could have been in the same House as John.

She missed her friend.

* * * * * * * * *

It took a while, but Rose managed to settle into life at Hogwarts. She didn't have too many more class disasters – she wasn't _good_ , per se, but no more cauldrons were lost and no more professors accidentally attacked. She spent the weekends hanging out with John outside until the weather got cold, then they started spending their time in the library. Martha began joining their study sessions as well, which was great, because Rose was absolutely pants at Charms and that was the one class she shared with Martha.

“No, it's swish and flick, not jab jab jab,” Martha corrected Rose patiently.

“Swish and flick,” John repeated in a surprisingly good imitation of Flitwick, and Rose snorted, pointing her wand at the book.

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_!”

The book wiggled a bit before lifting an inch off the table and falling back down to it. “Well that's progress!” Martha said with a grin. Rose beamed proudly.

Rose's first flying lesson was _amazing_. She was one of the few who got the broom to jump into her hand on the first try, and hovering a few feet off the ground was the most thrilling thing ever for her.

And more than ever she wanted to play Quidditch. The first game of the season was between Gryffindor and Slytherin and it was _amazing_. She screamed herself hoarse and cheered loudly with the rest of the House when Gryffindor won.

All and all, it wasn't that bad. The time flew by, and before Rose knew it she was heading for Christmas. She and Martha shared a compartment on the train back – John had decided to stay at school – and they spent the ride trying once again to teach Rose Wizard Chess. John and Martha loved playing against each other, but Rose was just bad at it.

Jackie was waiting on the other side of the wall when Rose and Martha finally came out, and Rose flew at her, hugging her tight and chattering excitedly. It had taken some time, but she'd grown to love Hogwarts. And she wanted to tell Jackie all about it.

Still, it was nice to be home too. After eleven years growing up in a small council flat, the size of the castle was sometimes overwhelming. Rose was happy to be back in the small flat for a couple weeks, spending Christmas with Jackie.

She woke up to presents from Martha and John on Christmas morning. Martha had sent her a set of practice spell books, John a basket of treats, along with several Chocolate Frog cards he knew she didn't have.

Rose had a good time educating Jackie about the wizards on the cards.

* * * * * * * * *

The second half of the term went by much faster. Rose, John, and Martha spent as much time together as they could, and it was only just starting to occur to Rose how strange everyone thought their little trio was – a Gryffindor, a Slytherin, and a Ravenclaw. But she didn't care. It wasn't _her_ fault her two best friends were in different Houses.

Rose had decided she definitely wanted to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team next year – two of the Chasers were graduating, and that was the exact spot she wanted. So she bullied John into letting her borrow his broom so she could practice on a decent broom while he followed her around on one of the awful school brooms.

“You're not bad,” John reported after their first practice. “You need to learn how to aim better but for your first time really flying that was good.”

Rose beamed.

The end of the year came far too fast. Rose was pleasantly pleased with how exams went and the fact that she had passed everything, the end of the year feast was accented by the yellow banners signifying Hufflepuff had won the House Cup, Rose ate a lot of food, and everything was good.

Rose, Martha, and John shared a compartment together back to the Muggle world, all promising to write, and Martha, as it turned out, didn't live that far from Rose so she promised to come visit.

Jackie, once again, was waiting for Rose when she came out from the platform, and Rose ran right to her, hugging her tight.

It was good to be home.


	2. Year Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose's second year at Hogwarts brings with it a lot of changes.

 

“Mum, Mum, Mum, can I spend the last two weeks of summer at John’s?”

It was the question Jackie Tyler had been _dreading_. She’d spoken with John’s aunt, and knew John wanted to invite Rose over, but Jackie really didn’t want to let her daughter go. She still wasn’t overly fond of John Smith. It was probably stupid to hold a year-long grudge, but those twenty minutes Rose had been missing in Diagon Alley had been some of the worst minutes of Jackie’s life.

“They’re going to Diagon Alley this weekend and I know you really didn’t want to go back there and we’re gonna meet up with Martha too, please please please?”

Despite it all, Jackie couldn’t say no to Rose’s desperate bouncing and pleading.

“Okay, _fine_.”

“ _Yes_!” Rose punched the air before running off to pack, nearly tipping over Luna in the process.

They headed to John’s a few days later, Rose bouncing excitedly the entire time and Luna yowling in the backseat. John had told her they had a big backyard and didn’t live near any Muggles, so she could practice flying. And she was going to get a broomstick! She’d spent all summer doing chores for people around the Estate so she could exchange it for wizard money and get her very own broomstick.

She probably wouldn’t make the team, but she’d have her own broomstick and an entire year to practice and try out again next year.

And owning her own broomstick was going to be _amazing_.

John was sitting on the doorstep when Rose and Jackie pulled up to the house. He looked up from his book, waving and grinning, and Rose threw herself out of the car to run over and throw her arms around him, giggling.

“Hi!”

“Hello,” John said with a laugh, hugging her back.

“Oi, someone get over here and help me with this trunk,” Jackie called.

“I’ve got it,” John said quickly, running over to help. He knew Jackie Tyler didn’t really like him and he was happy to take any chance he could get to change that opinion. “Here, I’ll take it upstairs, she’s staying in the guest room…”

John hauled the trunk inside, and Jackie and Rose followed him. Sarah Jane was in the kitchen, and Rose stopped to watch the dishes doing themselves, enthralled.

“Hello Rose,” Sarah Jane said with a smile. “Jackie. Do you want some tea?”

“Hi Sarah,” Jackie returned. “No I should probably get going, it’s a bit of a drive back.”

“Oh, one cup, go on. Rose, John’s taking your trunk up to the guest room if you want to see where you’re staying.”

“Sure!” Rose ran up the stairs after John, following him into the guest room. She threw herself down on the bed, laughing. “This is _great_! John your dishes were _washing themselves_!”

“It’s not _that_ impressive,” John said he sat down next to her. “Did you read the broomstick magazines I sent you?”

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna go with one of the Cleansweeps. I definitely can’t afford a Nimbus, but Cleansweeps are nice, have a good speed, turn on a dime…”

She’d spent _hours_ reading those magazines.

Jackie called Rose down to say goodbye and collect her cat, and then she was off. “You should let her out in the backyard, I bet she’ll love the gnomes,” Sarah Jane suggested. “Maybe _she’ll_ get rid of them, since _someone_ can’t be bothered.”

That part was directed at John. “I _told_ you, I have a lot of summer homework I need to do. I don’t have time for de-gnoming.”

“You’re not doing homework now.”

“I’m showing Rose around the house!”

Rose giggled, going to let Luna outside before John dragged her away.

* * * * * * * *

They left for Diagon Alley early the next morning, and Rose learned she did _not_ like Floo Powder. She tripped out of the fireplace, coughing and gasping, and John caught her before she could hit the floor.

“That’s _awful_. Why would anyone travel like that?”

“Because they don’t let us Apparate until we’re seventeen.”

Sarah Jane joined them, and they headed out into Diagon Alley. Martha had said she’d meet them at Gringotts, and Rose needed to exchange her Muggle money so she could get her broomsticks and supplies, so they headed that way.

“Rose! John!”

Martha waved when she saw them, and Rose surged forward to hug Martha tight.

Sarah Jane sent John down to the vaults with Martha and Francine Jones so he could get some money, and stayed above ground with Rose to help her deal with goblins and exchange money. Once that was done, Sarah Jane and Francine offered to go pick up the books so the kids could go to the Quidditch store. Martha looked absolutely torn, like she wanted to go to the bookstore, but Rose grabbed her and dragged her down the street.

“The books will be there _later_ , Martha, c’mon!”

They practically ran to the Quidditch supply store. Rose wasted no time picking out the broom she wanted and happily forking over every spare galleon she had. It was _worth it_.

“I don’t see what the big deal,” Martha said as they sat down at the ice cream shop, waiting for Sarah Jane and Francine. “It’s a broomstick.”

“It’s the newest Cleansweep!” Rose said, absolutely affronted. “ _Far_ better handling than the Cleansweep Seven, it can go zero to eighty!”

Martha clearly didn’t understand one word of that.

When Sarah Jane and Francine returned they stopped in the Leaky Cauldron to get some lunch, Rose still enthralled by her broomstick and barely noticing what she was eating.

“Wanna come over and see how it works?” Rose asked Martha excitedly.

“It’s a broom, it flies.” Martha sounded bewildered. “What else is there to know?”

“ _Marthaaaaaaa_.” Rose whined.

“Why don’t you go, sweetheart?” Francine suggested. “Spend some time with your friends. If Sarah Jane doesn’t mind?”

“Oh, of course not,” Sarah said with a smile. “You’re welcome to spend the night if you want, Martha.”

Martha agreed, likely just to shut Rose up, and the minute they got home, Rose and John dropped their books and ran out back with Rose’s broomstick. Martha grabbed _The Standard Book of Spells: Year Two_ and followed them out so she could read while they were messing around. John got his broom out and they spent the rest of the afternoon in the air, Rose throwing apples at John to try and get them past him, like she was scoring goals. She didn’t do too badly, but he wasn’t exactly a Keeper so it may have been a fluke.

* * * * * * * *

In almost no time at all it was time to return to Hogwarts once more. Sarah Jane drove John and Rose to the station, and they met Martha on the platform, getting a compartment for them to share and going back out to say goodbye to Sarah Jane and Francine.

And then they were off.

“Luna stop teasing Apollo,” Rose said, shoving her cat away from John’s owl’s cage. Luna _mur-_ ed at Rose before crawling under the seat for a nap.

“So what extra classes are you taking?” Martha asked John curiously.

“Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes. Divination might’ve been fun but I’ve heard Trelawney is an old fraud.”

“Isn’t that all just a bunch of mumbo jumbo though?”

“I think it sounds kind of interesting,” Rose spoke up.

“Save yourself three years of aggravation. All Trelawney does is predict students’ deaths for show.”

Martha stole John’s Arithmancy textbook, flipping through it, and Rose could see her eyes lighting up as she stopped to read a few passages.

“So what are the other class options anyways?”

“Marthaaaaa,” Rose whined, nudging her with her foot. “Can’t you at least wait until after Christmas to start thinking about this? The term hasn’t even started yet!”

John heard the trolley witch coming and hopped up to get some food while Martha begrudgingly put his book away.

* * * * * * * *

Quidditch tryouts were the second week of term. Rose would be lying if she said she wasn’t just a little nervous, but still she shouldered her broom and went down to the field after class on the day of tryouts. They weren’t until seven, but Rose wanted to practice a little and John had offered to help. Martha joined them after dinner, offering them some food she’d nicked since they had both skipped dinner in favor of practicing.

There were three spots open on the team — two Chasers and the Seeker. The rest of the team showed up twenty minutes early to set up, and Martha and John retreated to the stands to watch while Rose sat on the sidelines and waited. Ten people showed up for tryouts, and Rose couldn’t help but be disappointed. There was no way she was going to make it.

“Alright, we’re trying out Seekers first!” The captain — a tall, sixth year named Amy Pond — called. “If you’re here to try out for Chaser just hang tight, we’ll get to you soon.”

Rose bit down a sigh as three people headed out onto the field, and she watched for twenty minutes as the team put the potential Seekers through their paces, and Amy whipped golf balls at them to see who caught more. The spot went to a fourth year, Ben Jackson.

“Chasers next!” Amy called as she landed, and the remaining people walked out onto the field to meet her. “Who wants to go first?”

Rose’s hand shot up before she’d even thought about it, and Amy grinned, grabbing the Quaffle and tossing it to her. “Alright, go to the other end of the field. When you hear the whistle, fly to our side and try to get past me and score a goal. The rest of the team is going to try and stop you. Good luck.”

She flew up to the goals, and Rose desperately found herself wishing she had waited and watched someone else go first. It was too late to back down, however, so she mounted her broom with the Quaffle tucked under her arm and took off into the air, flying all the way to the other end of the field. The remaining Chaser and the Beaters were already in the air, watching her and waiting for the go ahead.

Then the whistle blew.

Rose flew forward with the Quaffle tucked under her arm, jerking up and dodging when one of the Beaters flew at her then dove under the other one as she approached. Finally she dodged the Chaser, and with all three of them on her trail she shot toward the goal. Amy was perfectly in the middle, ready to fly off in whatever direction Rose threw the Quaffle. She feigned a look of concentration, aiming for the right goal. There was absolutely a good chance Amy would know she was feigning, and she would probably only get away with this trick once either way.

But she had to try.

She kept up the ruse until the very last second before suddenly whipping the Quaffle through the left goal. Amy realized at the last second what was happening and dove to the left, but it was too late — the Quaffle slipped through her fingers and into the goal.

“ALRIGHT!” She heard Martha yelling in the stands as John clapped. Amy looked at the goal for a moment, then back at Rose, raising an eyebrow.

“Okay then.” She went to retrieve the Quaffle, throwing it back to Rose. “Let’s see you do that again.”

All and all, Rose was happy with the way the tryout went. She lost the Quaffle once, but she made four goals out of five and Amy seemed impressed. Rose touched back down on the ground, grinning and excited and feeling positively exhilarated.

Having to wait through the rest of the tryouts was torture, though.

After nearly forty minutes, Rose felt a bit better about her chances. No one got five goals, and only one other person got four goals.

Finally the last person was done, and the team landed and huddled together to talk. That took nearly ten more minutes, and Rose was nearly bouncing out of her skin by the end of it. She still wasn’t completely confident — she was young, after all. There was another second year there who had flown _horribly_ , and everyone else was third year and above. Surely they’d want someone older, even if the younger one had flown better?

“Alright,” Amy called finally, turning to face the waiting group. “Thank you all for trying out, first of all, but unfortunately we only have two spots open. And those spots are going to Jake Simmonds and Rose Tyler.” Rose’s eyes lit up, her heart jumping. “Congratulations you two, and thanks to everyone else. First practice is Sunday at noon.”

Rose was still standing stock still, absolutely stunned, as someone barreled into from behind. “You did it!” Martha said, hugging her tight, and finally reality settled in, and Rose couldn’t help but squeal as she returned the hug.

 _She had done it_.

“Tyler, Simmonds,” Amy called across the field. “C’mere, we gotta see if the robes will fit.”

“You guys go back,” Rose told Martha and John. It was getting late, she didn’t want them to get in trouble waiting for her. “I’ll walk back with the team.”

“Are you sure?” John asked, and Rose nodded.

“Yeah, it’s late. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

They left, and Rose ran to the waiting team, grinning. “Is that Slytherin kid bothering you?” One of the Beaters, Perry Perkins, asked with a frown. Rose made a face.

“No, he’s my friend.”

“ _Really_?” Perry wrinkled his nose.

“Stuff it, Perkins,” Amy called over her shoulder as they headed for the locker rooms. “Come on, let’s move, I have an essay due for Flitwick.”

It was no surprise to anyone that Rose’s robes were _far_ too big for her. “You’re so tiny,” Amy mumbled as she measured out exactly how much they’d have to take off the robes. “You’ve got more of a Seeker build honestly.”

“I like Chasers better,” Rose mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed. Had she tried out for the wrong position?

“You’ve got good form for a Chaser too,” Amy assured her, finally finishing and scribbling down some notes on a piece of parchment. “You’re just really…” She waved a hand. “ _Little_. It’s not a problem, honestly I hope you stay small. Makes it harder to aim at you.”

There was a boy waiting outside the locker room when the team finally left. “Spying, Williams?” The senior Chaser, Natalie Rodgers, teased. “So rude.”

“Yeah the Hufflepuff team is just _dying_ for my expert opinion on your new team,” the boy said dryly as Amy grabbed him and dragged him closer, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Told you you didn’t have to wait.”

“Not like I’m doing anything else, _I’m_ done with all _my_ homework.”

“Of course you are.” Amy rolled her eyes. “Mel go back already?”

“Yeah, she said she’d rather watch paint dry than you flying around on a stick letting kids who couldn’t aim throw a ball at your head.”

“So kind, so sweet.”

Rose was practically bouncing as she followed the team back up to the dorm. She was the youngest, but they all did their best to make her feel included in their conversation, and for the first time Rose felt like she might actually be able to make friends in her own House.

It was a wonderful feeling.

* * * * * * * *

“I am an _idiot_ ,” Rose said with a sigh, throwing down her quill. She’d lost her third cauldron in Potions that week, was now working on what had become her customary “what did I do wrong” essay.

“You are _not_ an idiot,” Martha said, scolding her lightly. They were in the library with John, as had become their tradition. “Potions is hard.”

“Do _you_ melt your cauldrons?”

“…Well no.”

Rose dropped her head on the table, sighing. “Ready to let me help?” John asked, and Rose shoved her book at him.

“Go crazy.”

He made a few notes for her, and a moment later said, “Stop looking at me like that.”

Rose raised her head to see Martha giving John a hard Look. “She’s never going to learn if you keep giving her the answers.”

“She’s never going to learn if no one helps her either.”

“She’s sitting right here, you know,” Rose piped up. John gave her her book back with notes, and she prepared to try again. She had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that she would _never_ be good at Potions and she was…mostly okay with that. At least she was doing better in all her other subjects.

It was a vast improvement from the year before.

* * * * * * * *

The first match of the season — Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw — was the first Saturday of November. Rose would be lying if she said she didn’t feel just a little sick as she sat with the team that morning, forcing herself to eat.

“Just don’t fall off your broom,” Toby Avery, the second Beater, advised through a mouthful of toast. “You’ll be fine.”

Somehow, that didn’t help.

Rose didn’t say much on the way down to the locker room. She noticed Jake and Ben were similarly quiet, each looking a bit pale. So it wasn’t just her.

“Alright,” Amy called to her team as they changed. “So first things first, I want you all to put last year out of your mind. It was bad, but it’s over.”

Rose winced a bit, remembering Gryffindors final game of last year. The previous Seeker’s broom had been hit head on by a Bludger, sending him plummeting to the ground. Someone had caught him before he hit the ground, at least, but the result had been the other team catching the Snitch and Slytherin steamrolling the team two-hundred to thirty.

Amy shook her head, clearly fighting off the thought as well. “It’s a new year, and we have a new team. And we’re _good_. So let’s get out there and show Ravenclaw we’re better than them, yeah?”

The rest of the team cheered, and Rose steeled herself. Now was her chance to prove herself. She was good. She could do this.

She could do this.

They got out onto the field, the captains shook hands, the whistle blew…

And they were off.

“And Gryffindor takes the Quaffle early!” The announcer called from the stands below. “That’s Jake Simmonds, new blood on the team — watch out that’s a Bludger! — ooooooooh, nice dodge, very good Simmonds, and he passes Rodgers, that’s Nat Rodgers, back for another year and with good reason, look at her go, Rodgers dodges Yates, she’s heading for the goal…”

An uproar echoed from the Gryffindor stands as Nat scored, and Rose beamed.

Off to a good start indeed.

“Aaaaaaaaaaand Ravenclaw takes possession of the Quaffle, no new people there this year, seems Yates went for friends and old faces rather than new talent. Yates passes to Asher, Asher — oooooh nice Bludger from Perkins, Ravenclaw loses possession of the Quaffle…”

Rose was close enough that she dove forward, grabbing the Quaffle and taking off back toward the goals. “And that’s Rose Tyler, the other new Chaser on the Gryffindor team! Blimey but she is _small_ I can barely see her — and apparently Collins can’t see her either that Bludger was _way_ off, mate…”

Rose whipped the Quaffle at Nat, who took possession and scored again. Twenty to zero. Nat shot Rose a thumbs up before taking off again, and Rose followed suit.

They were about twenty minutes into the game, and Gryffindor was twenty points up (Ravenclaw scored two goals and Gryffindor got two more, one of them Rose’s, which she was very proud of), when a well aimed Bludger hit Rose squarely in the left side. She lost her grip on her broom and nearly slipped, catching herself just in time with her left hand while her right hand wrapped tight around her.

“Ooooooooh, bad luck Tyler, Bludger in your first game,” the announcer called. “Looks like Pond is calling for a — _did Jackson see the Snitch_?!”

Rose’s head snapped up to see Ben going into a nosedive, with the Ravenclaw seeker right behind him. A moment later Ben pulled out of the dive, throwing his hand up with the Snitch clutched in it. Rose momentarily forgot herself and cheered—

And her vision blacked out for the briefest moment.

She caught herself before she hit the ground, tumbling ungracefully onto the grass and collapsing, still holding her side. She felt like she could barely breathe.

“Owowowow…” She gasped as the rest of the team landed with her. She looked through her legs and saw Martha and John fighting their way onto the field.

There were benefits to going to a magical school, of course. Madam Pomfrey was called down to the field, and she spent a good ten minutes lecturing Rose while she mended her ribs. It was worth it.

“You were _great_!” Nat cheered as soon as Rose was healed, throwing her arms around in her a tight hug. Rose nearly fell over, laughing, as the rest of the team descended upon them.

She saw Martha and John watching her over the team’s shoulder.

She’d talk to them tomorrow.

* * * * * * * *

Rose yawned as she slid over to rest her head on Martha’s shoulder. “Oi, get up and read. Flitwick wants this essay and I don’t think he’s going to accept ‘I was busy getting my ribs busted by a Bludger’ as an excuse.”

It was just her and Martha in the library that day. John had decided not to join them, letting Martha know at breakfast he had other things to do.

Rose was trying not to be too hurt by that.

“Is…John mad at me?” She finally asked quietly. “I mean, since I didn’t hang out with you guys after the game yesterday…”

“Of course he’s not,” Martha assured her. “You had to celebrate with your team, he understands.”

“Okay…” Rose said uncertainly, trying to refocus on her essay. Martha was probably right.

It was probably nothing.

* * * * * * * *

By the next day, everything was back to normal. John joined Martha and Rose in the library after classes were over for the day. He didn’t mention anything about ditching them the day before, and Rose didn’t want to bring it up.

She just wanted things to be normal between them.

Rose decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas that year, just to see what a Hogwarts Christmas was like. Martha joined her after some thought, as did John, and Rose had to admit she was excited to get to spend more time with them. She’d become friends with Amy, Natalie, and Jake, and as a result was spending a lot more time in the common room.

And she missed her best friends.

But the three of them were going home for Christmas, and Rose was happy. The first day of break she spent all day outside, practicing bewitching snowballs with John and sending them after Martha when she refused to join in.

Christmas dinner was _amazing_. The rules were a little stringent during the break, so Rose and John invaded Ravenclaw table to eat dinner with Martha, and then pulled crackers together. Martha and Rose shrieked when one of them released a barrage of white mice.

“Hey, I’ve got a crown,” John said, holding up the pink paper crown. After a moment he unfolded it and put it on Rose’s head.

It was all brilliant.

* * * * * * * *

Christmas break ended far too soon, of course, and it was back to regular life. Rose once again found herself spending less time with Martha and John — Gryffindor was in the running for the Quidditch Cup, and Amy had become a bit manic, scheduling practices whenever she could.

“God, I get that she wants to win, I really do,” Nat mumbled in the locker room after a particularly chilly practice one Sunday afternoon — it had begun snowing early on and Amy had refused to cancel. “But frostbite isn’t going to help anyone.”

“Did you see that Slytherin kid watching?” Perry asked, shaking snow out of his hair. “What do you think he was doing hanging around?”

“That was John,” Rose said automatically. “He’s my friend, he’s just waiting for me.”

“Yeah well he can wait somewhere else,” Perry said darkly.

“Got a problem, Perry?” Amy asked over her shoulder. Perry blinked, stammering for a moment.

“H-He could be spying for the other team—”

“Or he could be waiting for his friend,” Amy returned coolly. “Stuff it.”

Perry blushed but obeyed, staying quiet. “Thanks,” Rose murmured to Amy, who rolled her eyes a bit.

“Perkins has a bad attitude. If he wasn’t such a great Beater I’d have thrown him off the team ages ago.”

“Why does he hate Slytherin so much?”

Amy was quiet for a moment as she focused on pulling off her robes. “You’re half-blood, right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know about Hogwarts or anything until last year…my mum is a Muggle and my dad died when I was a baby.”

Amy nodded slowly. “Makes sense you wouldn’t understand then. Slytherin has a really bad history. It was a pure bloods only House way back when, and everyone thought if you ended up in that you were going to grow up to be evil. Have you ever heard of Lord Voldemort?”

Rose frowned, thinking. “Y-Yeah,” she said slowly. “He was an evil wizard, right? Harry Potter defeated him?” That was about as far as her knowledge went — she’d read it on the back of her Harry Potter Chocolate Frog card.

“You’ll hear all about him if you stay in History of Magic past your O.W.Ls, Binns has a whole unit on him, but yeah, that’s the gist. Anyways he was in Slytherin when he was at Hogwarts, and that pretty much cemented the whole ‘only bad wizards go to Slytherin’ thing. It’s gotten a bit better since he died — the House’s blood is a lot more diluted, it’s not pure bloods only anymore, and the stereotypes aren’t _quite_ as widely accepted. Not everyone can let go of it though.”

“You don’t believe it though?” Rose asked. Amy shook her head.

“My sister is in Slytherin. She’s a seventh year and don’t get me wrong, she’s evil, but the worst thing she’s even done is put worms in my bed after I accidentally broke her toy wand when I was four.”

That made Rose feel a bit better. She knew John wasn’t evil — he had been nothing but kind to her from the very moment they had met. No matter what House he was in, he was nothing but kind.

And Rose didn’t like anyone thinking he was bad.

John was still waiting when Rose came out of the locker room a few minutes later. “You didn’t have to wait,” she said happily, bouncing through the piling snow toward him. “It’s freezing.”

“I figured you were almost done.” He shrugged, pulling his cloak a bit tighter around himself, and they headed back up to the castle together. Rose couldn’t stop herself from watching John out of the corner of her eye as she walked, Amy’s words still running through her head.

John was her best friend. He wasn’t evil. He didn’t deserve anyone thinking he was.

As soon as they were inside and out of the snow, Rose threw her arms around John, hugging him tight. He blinked, surprised.

“What’s this for, then.”

Rose shrugged, not letting go. “Nothing.”

* * * * * * * *

“ _Gryffindor wins the Quidditch cup_!”

Poor Ben Jackson was staring at the Snitch in his fingers, mouth hanging open and shocked, as the rest of the Gryffindor team descended upon him, screaming and laughing and hugging him tight.

The final game of the season had been a tight one. Gryffindor had been tied with Slytherin fifty to fifty before Ben had caught the Snitch, nearly barreling into the ground and wrecking his broom in the process.

“ _BRILLIANT!_ ” Amy yelled as the team landed on the ground at last, still tangled in each other and laughing. They weren’t on the ground for long, however, before the rest of the House ran onto the field, hoisting them onto their shoulders. Rose was giggling, gripping her broom tight.

 _They had won_.

She didn’t get a chance to see Martha or John after the game. The team barely had a chance to change before they were being whisked up to Gryffindor Tower for a party that last well into the early hours of the morning.

Rose joined Amy and Nat for a late breakfast the next morning. Amy kept looking around the Great Hall like she was trying to find someone, and about twenty minutes after they got there she raised her voice and yelled, “ _MELODY_!” right in Rose’s ear. “Oops, sorry Rose.”

A curly-haired Slytherin seventh year girl made her way over, looking extremely unamused. “You _bellowed_ , Amelia?”

Amy grinned, holding her hand out. “I believe you owe me ten galleons.”

“We were _drunk_ when we made that bet, are you seriously going to—”

“Yes.”

Rose watched, trying not to giggle, as Amy’s sister glared at her and dug a few golden coins out of her pocket, shoving them into Amy’s waiting hand. “Cheers!” Amy said happily.

Rose was about halfway through her breakfast when a hand suddenly seized the back of her shirt. “Oi!” She yelped as she was dragged out of her seat, and she looked around to see Martha tugging her along. “Martha, what—”

“Come on, let’s go,” Martha said happily, and Rose cast a sad look at her plate of food before following Martha out of the hall.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Actually, she wouldn’t see, since immediately after saying that Martha tied a cloth around Rose’s eyes and took her hand to lead her along.

“ _Martha_ —”

“Shush!”

They walked along for a couple of minutes before suddenly coming to a halt. There was a brief pause, then the blindfold was whipped off and two voices yelled, “ _Surprise_!”

Rose just stared, stunned. They were in the Transfiguration classroom, John standing under a banner that was flashing “Congratulations!” in alternating red and gold, a desk full of sweets beside him.

“We wanted to celebrate too,” Martha explained with a grin as Rose blinked slowly. “John bought all the candy last time he was at Hogsmeade.”

“What if we’d lost?”

“Then you probably would’ve needed the candy anyways,” John pointed out, and after a moment Rose’s face split into a grin as she threw herself at John, dragging Martha with her, and pulled them both into a suffocating hug.

* * * * * * * *

“I don’t know what to _do_ ,” Rose groaned, staring at the list of electives they had to choose from for next year. She was in the library with Martha and John. John had been trying to advise the girls, but he wasn’t very good at it. “Can’t I just take them all and decide what I like?”

“They don’t allow that,” Martha said sadly. “I asked Flitwick.”

“Why not?”

“There are rumors they let someone do it once.” Rose looked over her shoulder to see Amy emerging from the stacks with a few books. “But she went completely mad, snapped her wand, and ran out. I hear she’s still living in the Forbidden Forest.”

“…Really?”

“Well that’s what the rumors say.”

Rose sighed, looking back at her blank sheet. Martha had already decided on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, and Rose was tempted to take those as well just so she could have a friend. But she’d seen John’s homework and thet were definitely too hard for Rose.

“Go for Care of Magical Creatures,” Amy suggested as she made her way past the table. “Hagrid’s great and you like being outside, you’ll like the class.”

Rose watched her go, then looked over at John. “Is there really a madwoman living in the Forbidden Forest?”

She had to ask. Nothing would really surprise her anymore.

John shrugged. “That’s one of the stories. Another is that she’s a permanent resident in St. Mungo’s psych ward so who knows really.”

In the end, Rose decided to take Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, which looked a little less complicated than Arithmancy.

At least she’d have a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	3. Year Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose goes into her third year at Hogwarts. And things get a little more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay in updating. I'm trying to get my original novel ready for publication and it's cutting into my writing time, unfortunately.

 

“So…what’s _Hogsmeade_ , exactly?”

“It’s a village near the cool,” Rose explained, bouncing. “Third years and above can visit on specific weekends, John went last year, he said it’s _amazing_. It’s one of the only all-wizarding villages in England or something.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“No, I think it’s kinda like Diagon Alley. Ya know, shops and all that, lots of wizard stuff. Mum pleeeeeeeease can I go?”

Jackie said, finally putting pen to parchment (she refused to use a quill) and signing the permission form. “You promise this isn’t going to be dangerous? Since apparently you don’t need a permission slip to play a dangerous sport where mad rocks fly around and break your bones?”

“Mum that only happened _once_.” And Rose was so sorry she’d told Jackie about that. The phone rang and she ran to answer, nearly tripping over Luna in the process. “Hullo?”

“ _Did you get your owl? Did your mother sign the slip?_ ” Martha asked excitedly.

“Yes! I just finished convincing her it’s not dangerous.”

* * *

 

“ _Awesome! We should go to Diagon Alley this weekend, my brother’s starting his first year so we’re going early, get him fitted for his robes and everything. I’ll write John and see if he can meet us. We really did to teach him how to use a phone_.”

“Mum can we go to Diagon Alley this weekend?” Rose called over her shoulder.

“So soon?” Jacqui asked, sounding a little disgruntled.

“Martha’s going, and John might be there. Please Mum?”

Jackie sighed, giving in. “Might as well get it over with, I suppose. Alright, we can go on Saturday.”

“Yes!” Rose grinned before returning her attention to the phone. “We’re going on Saturday.”

“ _Great, hopefully I can get an owl to John on time. Seriously, we need to teach him ho to use a phone_.”

“That’ll be a project for this year. See you Saturday!”

Rose was grinning as she hung up. She flopped back on the couch, reading through her new textbook list. She’d spent most of the summer working again, trying to save money to pay for some of her own books. She knew things were expensive, and the Muggle to wizard money conversion rates weren’t great.

“I suppose I should just be happy I’m never gonna have to pay for university,” Jackie said with a sigh as she read the list over Rose’s shoulder. “There… _isn’t_ a wizard university, is there?”

“I’ve never heard of one, no,” Rose reassured her mother, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

* * * * * * * *

They left for Diagon Alley bright and early Saturday morning, meeting Martha in the Leaky Cauldron. “Hey!” Rose threw her arms around Martha, hugging her tight, while Francine and Jackie introduced themselves to each other. “How’s it going? Is John coming?”

“Yeah, he should be here, you know what he’s like. Twelve months late for _everything_.”

“Oi!” John complained as he stumbled out of the fireplace. “Rude.”

“Not wrong though,” Sarah Jane said as she came out behind John.

“You’re supposed to be on my side.”

They stopped at Gringotts so everyone could get money, and Francine left Martha with the group so she could Martha’s brother to get robes and his wand. And it was off to the bookstore. Well, sort of.

“Oh my god, look, they put out a new Firebolt!” Rose said excitedly, veering off track to stare longingly at the Firebolt Three. She’d probably have to work the rest of her life to pay for it, but it’d be _worth it_.

“You should ask how much it would be just for a laugh,” John with a smirk as the door of the store opened.

“It’s not much a laugh, trust me,” a familiar voice said, and they looked over to see Rory Williams and Amy Pond making their way out of the store, the latter with a new broom on her shoulder.

“Worth it,” Amy said proudly. Rose’s eyes widened.

“You got the new Firebolt?”

“I’m trying out for Pride of Portree next year, they put in an order for these, it’s the preferred broom,” Amy explained. “And we had a little bit of extra money since Mum and Dad don’t have to pay for Mel’s books anymore…”

“Can I have a go on it some time? Oh.” Rose looked back at Jackie, who looked bewildered. “Mum, this is Amy and her boyfriend Rory. Amy’s the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”

“Oh so _you’re_ the one who thought it’d be okay to let me twelve-year-old daughter play a game where mad balls tried to break her bones.”

Amy blinked. “What?”

“ _Mum_.” Rose groaned. “Ignore her, sorry. See you at school!”

They went their separate ways, and it was Martha’s turn to be excited as they arrived at the bookstore. “Arithmancy looks _amazing_ , doesn’t it?” She said as she flipped through the book, holding it out for Rose to see. It made her head hurt, if she was honest.

“Professor Vector is pretty great,” John said as he picked out his own books. “You’ll probably like her.”

Rose picked out her Care of Magical Creatures book, flipping through it quickly. She was pretty excited for that class — certainly more so than she was Ancient Runes.

“Are you going to be _working_ with those things?” Jackie asked sharply, grabbing the book out of Rose’s hands to stare in horror at the magical creature. John peaked over Jackie’s shoulder (he’d shot up in the month that had passed since Rose had last seen him — he was taller than Jackie now).

“Mrs. Tyler I highly doubt Professor Hagrid’s managed to get a manticore for his third-year class to work with. A classmate of mine is in Hagrid’s class, she said third years mostly learn about Flobberworms for the first month and work their way up from there.”

Jackie gave John a small glare before giving Rose her book back, and Rose mouthed _thank you_ at John as they headed to the counter to check out. Next it was to the Apothecary, as all three of them needed to stock up on Potions supplies. Jackie elected to wait outside.

“Your mother really doesn’t like any of this, does she?” Martha mumbled to Rose as they picked out their supplies. “She _did_ know your father was a wizard, right?”

“Yeah, she said he told her right before he proposed,” Rose said with a sigh. “It’d probably be easier if he was alive to talk her through all of it, but I guess having to deal with it all on her own is too much.”

“She should spend more time with Sarah Jane,” John spoke up. “I bet she’d be able to help.”

“And my mum,” Martha added.

“They could have a ‘guardians of Hogwarts students’ support group.” Rose giggled. “C’mon, let’s go. I’m starving.”

* * * * * * * *

A few weeks later, Jackie and Rose were waking up early to prepare to leave for King’s Cross. “We’re gonna be a right sight, walking through King’s Cross with a broomstick and a cat in a cage,” Jackie said as they loaded everything into the car.

“We’ll just tell anyone who asks that I’m a witch.”

They got to King’s Cross with half an hour to spare, and hurried onto the platform. Rose claimed an empty compartment, dropping her stuff and hopping off to say goodbye to Jackie and look for Martha and John. Martha showed up a few minutes later with her younger brother Leo in tow, and John nearly ten minutes after that.

“You’re—”

“Late, yeah, yeah.”

“ _Why_ can’t I sit with you?” Leo was complaining to Martha. “All you’re gonna do is read the entire trip anyways.”

“Go make your own friends, Leo.”

“Aw, go on, let him sit with us,” Rose said. “We’ve got room.”

Leo’s eyes lit up, and Martha rolled her eyes. “The worst part is I have to go through all this again _next year_ ,” Francine muttered to Sarah Jane and Jackie. “Their sister’s turning eleven in January.”

Leo ended up joining them for train ride, chattering excitedly the entire time. He spoke mostly to Rose — Martha had pulled out her Arithmancy book in protest of her brother being in their compartment, and John was flipping through his Chocolate Card collection, trying to figure out what he could trade away.

“Think someone’s got a crush,” he teased once they were off the train and Leo had run off with the other first years — though not before calling, “ _See you later Rose_!” over his shoulder.

“What? No don’t be stupid.”

“He’s like a puppy,” Martha said as they found a carriage. “If you show him a little bit of attention he’ll love you forever.”

They split up when they got to the Great Hall, Rose sitting with Jake Simmonds and Natalie Rodgers at the Gryffindor table, and they watched the Sorting — Leo Jones ended up in Hufflepuff — before digging into the feast.

It was good to be back.

* * * * * * * *

“ _Wake up_!”

Rose shrieked as something heavy fell on her, and she jerked back, rolling over the edge of the bed. The other girls all bolted up quickly, and Amy laughed as she fell back on Rose’s bed.

“Oh my god I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d freak out!”

“You didn’t think hopping on me and yelling ‘wake up’ in my ear would freak me out?” Rose asked in disbelief as she sat up to look at Amy. “What’re you doing in here?”

“Waking you up. Obviously.”

“Yeah, I _gathered_ that. Why are you waking me up at…” Rose fumbled for her alarm clock, groaning when she saw the time. “Six in the morning?”

“Quidditch practice!”

“At six in the morning?”

“Early start. Meet us downstairs in ten minutes.”

And with that Amy left. Rose apologized to her annoyed dorm mates before quickly getting ready and hurrying downstairs.

“…Next time just send an owl the night before, yeah?” Perry Perkins was grumbling as Rose came downstairs. She was the last one down; the rest of the team was already there, glaring at Amy, who was far too awake.

“Rose! Great, let’s get going.”

“Man I’ll be happy when she graduates,” Toby mumbled as they left. Perry grumbled something in agreement.

They practiced well into the morning, and despite the early start, Rose couldn’t deny she was exhilarated. She lived in the middle of London, there hadn’t been any chances for flying during the summer. And it was amazing to be back in the air.

“Looking like England might actually make it to the World Cup this year,” Rose heard Ben saying in the locker room after practice. “ _Steamrolled_ Bulgaria, did you hear?”

“Yeah wasn’t it like five-hundred to fifty?” Jake replied. “Bulgaria’s gone to hell since Krum retired though, not really a surprise.”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Rose asked, peeking around the lockers.

“The Quidditch World Cup. It’s next year but people are already picking their favorites for the finals,” Jake explained. “England’s in the running for the first time in fifty years, it’s a big deal.”

“I heard it’s probably gonna be England versus Scotland,” Nat called from her locker. Ben laughed.

“ _Scotland_? We’ve got this then, they’re a bunch of—”

“Bunch of _what,_ exactly, Jackson?” Amy’s Scottish accent seemed a little more apparent and sharper than usual as she cut Ben off. He turned red.

“N-Nothing, Pond.”

Jake rolled his eyes, grinning at Rose. “My dad’s trying to get tickets, he works at the Ministry. Wanna come with us if he can?”

“Sure!” Rose said at once, eyes lighting up. Seeing a professional Quidditch match would be _amazing_.

Martha and John were waiting outside the locker room when the team left. Rose frowned when she saw Perry intentionally shoulder-check John on his way by, but John didn’t say anything so Rose let it go as well.

“Absolutely mad, the lot of you,” Martha said as she handed over some toast for Rose. “Getting up at six in the morning just to fly around.”

“No worse than voluntarily getting up at six in the morning to do homework that isn’t due for a week,” Rose teased back. Martha didn’t have an answer to that.

* * * * * * * *

The first Hogsmeade trip of the year was a month after term began. Rose woke up bright and early that morning, nearly vibrating in her excitement. She sprang out of bed and got dressed quickly before zooming down to the Great Hall to shovel down some food.

Of course, by the time she’d finished eating Martha and John had both only just sat down to eat. Rose bounced impatiently before running to the Ravenclaw table, plopping down beside Rose. “Hurry _up_ ,” she insisted, poking Martha’s arm.

“Rose would you relax? Hogsmeade isn’t going anywhere.”

Rose groaned and sprang up, running to the Slytherin table next. “Hurry _uuuuuup_ ,” she insisted as she sat beside John, poking him as well.

“Hogsmeade isn’t _that_ great, you know,” John informed Rose seriously. She gave him a look of utmost offense.

“Bite your tongue!”

“Oi, Tyler!”

Rose looked around, surprised, to see the Slytherin Quidditch captain, a beefy sixth year named Evan Knight, standing across the table from her. “What’re you doing here? Get back to your own table.”

Rose scowled at him, squaring her shoulders and saying quite simply, “Don’t wanna. I’m talking to a friend.”

“ _Friend_?” Knight sneered, rolling his eyes. “Smith tell your little pet to run along, would you? Don’t need her Mudblood stink interrupting my breakfast.”

John shoved away from the table at once, whipping his wand out of his pocket and pointing it at Knight. The entire table had gone completely silent, and Rose saw Martha half-standing at the Ravenclaw table, watching with wide eyes.

“John, stop!” Rose protested, jumping up and trying to force his arm down.

“What’re you gonna do?” Knight taunted John, but another voice broke in before John could answer.

“What’s going on?”

The moment broke as the Herbology professor, Professor Longbottom, descended upon the table. “Knight called Rose a Mudblood,” John at once, finally lowering his wand and turning to the professor.

“And that required you to take out your wand?” Professor Longbottom asked calmly. John, to his credit, had the decency to at least look a little abashed, though Rose knew he didn’t regret his actions in even the slightest. “Ten points from Slytherin for pulling your wand on a student. Knight, fifty points for inappropriate language.”

“ _Professor_ —!”

“ _And_ detention,” Professor Longbottom continued. “Ms. Tyler, why don’t you return to the Gryffindor table?”

The words were said kindly, not at all in a reprimanding way, but Rose’s ears were still burning as she made her way back to the table. She only sat for a few moments, however, before going to wait out by the staircase for Martha and John.

 _Mudblood_. She’d seen that word in a book once and had had to ask Martha what it meant. She knew it was a slur against Muggleborns, and even if she was a half-blood, the thought of someone calling her that made her feel a little sick. It was an easy mistake to make; she was so ignorant when it came to the magical world sometimes that it was easy to think she was a Muggleborn. She didn’t _mind_ being mistaken for a Muggleborn.

But she certainly didn’t want to be called a Mudblood.

Martha and John joined Rose a few minutes later, Martha sitting on the stairs beside Rose and pulling her into a tight hug.

“Come on. Let’s get going.”

The entire event had certainly put a damper on what should have been an exciting day. John bought out half of Honeydukes to cheer Rose up, and it _did_ make her feel a little better.

“Thanks,” she said with a small smile, giving him a hug. Whether she was thanking him for the candy or for defending her honor, she didn’t know.

Both, really.

* * * * * * * *

Rose got her revenge against Ethan Knight, though. The first Quidditch match of the season was Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The rest of the team had seen the altercation in the Great Hall and had heard Knight call Rose a Mudblood.

Perry Perkins _swore_ it was an accident when he hit a Bludger right at Knight’s face, breaking his nose.

In the end they beat Slytherin two-sixty to eighty. Rose scored five goals and at one point when she was flying past Knight she called, “How’s it feel to get shown up by a Mudblood?”

It was incredibly satisfying.

* * * * * * * *

“They’re so _cute_!” Rose said happily as she watched the salamanders scurry around, trying to gather wood for fires. Care of Magical Creatures had quickly become one of her favorite subjects — she loved spending time outside and getting to know the different kinds of creatures, and Professor Hagrid was _so_ much fun. Rose was pretty sure he liked her too — he was certainly patient about answering all her questions, at least.

“Careful!” He said as he walked past Rose, gently pulling her back. “Don’t want yeh ter burn yerself. We’ll do frost salamanders next class, think yeh’ll like those.”

“ _Frost_ salamanders?” Rose asked, eyes lighting up.

“S’posed ter get some snow this weekend, they’ll be comin’ out,” Hagrid confirmed with a nod. “Bit safer for yer ter touch.”

The bell rang before Rose could launch into a rapid fire of questions, but that didn’t stop her, of course. “So they’re like flame salamanders, right? But flame salamanders can’t survive once the fire they’re born in dies, can frost salamanders survive in all cold weather or do they die when the snow they were born in melts? What do they eat? Can I _really_ touch them?”

Hagrid chuckled. “Save it for next class, Rose. Run along now.”

Rose pouted as she gathered up her stuff and hurried back to the castle for Charms. She knew the rest of her class hated having to traipse outside and spend an hour in the cold at Hagrid’s cabin, but Rose _loved_ it. Going back to the castle actually depressed her a little bit, even if it meant the tips of her fingers could finally warm up.

“Hi!” Rose said happily as she flopped down next to Martha.

“You look like you’re _freezing_.”

“I am! Feel!” She pressed her hand to Martha’s cheek, and Martha shrieked.

“Get away from me!”

* * * * * * * *

“I probably shouldn’t give my mother Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans for Christmas, right?”

“Not if you want her to love you,” Martha confirmed with a nod. “Maybe just some Cauldron Cakes. Oh, and never-melt ice cream, you should buy her a ton of that. It’s great in the summer.”

Rose went to find the ice cream, peeking at shelves.

“…ask him to join us?”

“He’s always with those _kids_ , though.”

Rose frowned, peeking around the shelves. There were two Slytherin fourth-year girls standing together and whispering. Every now and again they shot a look at John, who was a few shelves over.

“I don’t want to hang out with them.”

“We’ll just ask, I’m sure if he has a choice he’ll choose us.”

Rose glared at their backs for a moment before returning to perusing the shelves. She shouldn’t have been surprised, she supposed. John was relatively good looking—

Wait. No. That wasn’t right. He wasn’t _good looking_. He was…John.

Rose shook her head furiously to shake off the thoughts, quickly refocusing on her search.

After Honeydukes they went to the Three Broomsticks, each getting a bottle of Butterbeer and finding a table to sit at so they could discuss their summer plans.

Rose had just put the Slytherin girls out of her mind when they came sauntering over to the table. “Hi, John,” one of them said sweetly while the other giggled. “We were just wondering if you wanted to join us at our table. You know — get away from the kids for a bit.”

John blinked, looking absolutely stunned, while Martha and Rose exchanged disgusted looks. “Um…no, I’m good, thanks,” he said stupidly. The girls looked a bit put out, but didn’t give up.

“Are you _sure_?”

“He said he’s good,” Rose snapped before John could answer. The girls shot her a dirty look before turning and and storming off. John finished off the last of his Butterbeer before muttering something about wanting another bottle and hurrying to the bar. Martha raised an eyebrow at Rose.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, ‘course,” Rose mumbled, sipping her drink and trying to ignore the stirring pit of emotion in her stomach.

Thankfully John came back before Martha could question it any further.

* * * * * * * *

All three of them decided to go home for Christmas that year, along with Martha’s brother, who once again joined them in their compartment on the train.

“So you know those girls who talked to us at the Three Broomsticks?” John asked when Leo fell asleep (he’d been talking most of the time, chattering excitedly about his first year). Rose scowled a bit at the mention of the girls.

“Yeah, what about ‘em?”

“One of them asked me out last night.”

Rose had to struggle not to let her scowl deepen; she could feel Martha’s eyes on her, watching her. “Yeah? That’s weird. What’d you say?”

“I mean I’m not really interested in her, I said no.” John shrugged. “Just thought it was kind of weird.”

“Yeah. Really weird. Why would anyone wanna go out with you?”

“Oi!”

A few days after getting back to London, Rose got a letter from Martha. _Are you jealous that girl asked John out?_

She ignored it. When Martha asked once they were back at school, she swore on her life she hadn’t gotten it.

* * * * * * * *

“So how do they choose a new captain, anyways?”

“Looking for a promotion, Rose?” Amy teased, and Rose giggled.

“No way, I don’t want your job. I was just wondering how they figured all that out. I mean, they gotta replace you since you’re leaving, right?”

“I’m not really sure how they do it, to be honest. The head of House chooses a veteran player on the team. Not necessarily the oldest — I got the captaincy in fifth year and there were two seventh years above me. I’m sure skill has something to do with it — I was the best player on the team at the time—”

“Not too much of an ego, huh Amy?” Nat teased, and Amy threw a bit of balled up parchment at her.

“Nat’ll probably get it this time. She’s got seniority and she’s damn good, even if she’s annoying.”

“Rude.”

Amy smirked at Nat before refocusing on Rose. “She’s only got a year left, though. If you keep it up you can probably get it once she’s gone.”

“Nah, I’m not that good.”

“You’re brilliant, shut up,” Amy said at once. “Honestly I’d say you have a better chance than Nat next year but I don’t think they choose anyone below fifth year.”

“It’s true,” Nat piped up. “You out-fly me by leagues.”

Rose’s face burned red and she ducked her head to refocus on her homework. That was absolutely mad, of course — she wasn’t better than Nat and she certainly  wasn’t good enough to be captain of the Quidditch team.

Still… _Captain Tyler_. The title had a nice ring to it, didn’t it?

* * * * * * * *

“It’s so _stupid_ , I mean, he’s not even that attractive, right?”

“He’s alright.” Martha shrugged, picking up a fake wand and turning it over. Rose had dragged her into Zonko’s, leaving John on the street to deal with his two admirers. Apparently they weren’t good at hearing _no_. “I haven’t really thought much about it.” She looked up, raising an eyebrow at Rose. “Have _you_?”

“O-Of course not,” Rose stuttered. “Definitely not.”

She didn’t really understand why it annoyed her so much that those girls kept asking after John. She didn’t even care that they looked at her and Martha like they were annoying children. So why did she care that they were so persistent about getting a date with him?

It was stupid.

“Blimey,” John gasped as he finally made his way into Zonko’s. “Sorry about that.”

“Heavy burden to be so popular, isn’t it?” Martha teased, putting the wand down. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

They made their way out of Zonko’s, heading down the street. Rose kept her eyes on the ground, hands in her pockets, trying very hard not to think.

John was just a friend, after all.

* * * * * * * *

It was, Rose thought, an appropriate send off for Amy Pond that they won the Quidditch Cup in her last year as captain.

The party in Gryffindor Tower lasted all night. A few people had gotten their hands on fire whiskey, and a good deal of the house was now so drunk they were tripping over themselves. Rose had taken one glass and was nursing it. Amy had decided to claim an entire bottle for herself.

It was now nearly empty as Amy flopped down next to Rose, giggling maniacally.

“Rose. RoseRoseRoseRoseRoseRose. Guess what Rose?”

“What, Amy?” Rose asked, barely suppressing a giggle.

“Ya know how like, I have that dating guy?”

“…Rory?”

“Yeah, him. Well I snuck out to meet him before curfew and guess what?”

“What, Amy?”

“He proposed!” She bounced, giggling. “He asked me to marry him and that was before I drank all of this—” She waved the empty bottle at Rose, “so I wasn’t drunk when I said yes.”

“Oh well that’s good, it might’ve been a bit awkward to wake up in the morning and realize you said yes to a proposal you didn’t want.”

Amy just giggled again, flopping over the arm of her chair so she was half in Rose’s lap. “Dating someone in another House is hard, Rose. But don’t let it get ya down, okay? The heart wants what the heart wants and all that crap.”

“…Huh?”

Amy had already passed out, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review...?


	4. Year Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose goes into her fourth year at Hogwarts. And things get a little more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the long wait on the update. The last month has been a little crazy with getting engaged and all. I hope you like this chapter though!

“So you’re not going to be _playing_?”

“No, Mum, just _watching_ ,” Rose said patiently. Quidditch was probably Jackie’s least favorite thing about the wizarding world, mostly because her daughter _played_ it. And Rose understood, really she did.

“And you’re going with a boy who _isn’t_ John?”

“John’s gonna be there too, his aunt got tickets. And Amy’s gonna be there with her sister, there’ll be girls, too. Mum _please_?”

Jackie sighed. “ _Fine_. You can go to this…World Cup…thing. How’re you getting there?”

“Um…” Rose wasn’t sure about that to be honest. “I don’t know. Driving probably? I’ll write Jake and ask him.”

“And how are they picking you up?”

“Car.” Rose knew that confidently. “He and his dad will pick me up next week and I’ll spend the night at his place before we head to the place where they’re holding the World Cup. We have to camp for a week, they stagger arrivals so people don’t show up all at once.”

Jackie sighed. _“Fine_. Write back… _Jake_. You can go.”

“ _Yes_!” Rose twirled a bit as she ran back to her room to grab Jake’s owl and send a response.

* * * * * * * *

Two weeks later, Jake and his dad (a half blood who thankfully had learned how to drive between terms at Hogwarts) were picking up Rose. “See you in a few weeks!” Rose said happily, hugging her mother tight before hurrying to the car.

“England made it!” Jake said as soon as Rose was in the car. “England and Scotland, don’t tell Amy we’re cheering against her, though.”

Rose laughed, settling in the back seat. “So how are we getting to the World Cup?” She asked curiously. She’d forgotten to add that part in her last letter.

“Portkey. We have to get up at three a.m. tomorrow, it’s gonna be awful.”

“Are you complaining?” Mr. Simmonds asked, raising an eyebrow. “I suppose I could just scalp the tickets so you can have a lay-in…”

“NO!”

“What’s a Portkey?” Rose asked, a little stupidly.

“Oh, sorry, right. A Portkey’s something that’s been charmed to transport you to other places. Kinda like Apparation, except you need to touch something to make it happen.”

Rose wasn’t totally sure what Apparation was either, but she didn’t question any further. She’d find out tomorrow, she supposed.

“John’s already at the campsite, he’s sent me a few owls. Said it’s pretty crowded.”

“Not surprised, it’s the biggest event in our world. Is Martha coming too?”

Rose snorted at that. “She barely knows which one is a Quaffle and which one is a Snitch.”

* * * * * * * *

She was singing a _very_ different tune when Jake’s mum shook her awake at two the next morning. She and Jake barely spoke as they ate some breakfast, and then they were shuffled out the door with their packs strapped to their backs.

“How far do we have to walk?” Jake asked around a wide yawn.

“Not far, just a couple of miles.”

“That’s far!”

“Are you complaining?”

Jake scowled sleepily but kept his mouth shut the entire walk. There was an old tin can waiting for them at the top of a hill. “Is that it?” Rose asked, blinking tiredly. Maybe she was seeing things.

“Yup. And with…” Jake’s dad checked his watch. “Three minutes to go. Come on you two.”

He picked up the can, holding it out to them. Jake put a hand on it, and after a moment Rose did the same. This was definitely one of the weirder aspects of the Wizarding world. She wondered why cars never really caught on with them.

There was a sudden jerk around Rose’s navel, and she was surprised to find herself dragged into a roaring, dark vortex of wind. They tumbled along for a few minutes before solid ground appeared again quite suddenly, and Rose stumbled and fell as they touched down.

“ _Ow_ …” She heard Jake groan, and assumed he had met a similar fate.

“Three a.m. from Stokey Hill,” a bored voice said, and Rose lifted her head to see another man picking up the Portkey and tossing it into a box.

“Been here all night, Taylor?” Mr. Simmonds asked. As they spoke, Jake stumbled up and help Rose up as well, and Rose looked around. It was still dark — apparently not much time had passed. The moon was just bright enough that she could make out the outline of hundreds of tents at the bottom of the hill they had landed on.

“Have you ever been camping?” She asked Jake curious.

“Yeah, a few times. Dad’s got a good tent. You?” Rose shook her head. “Well, you’ll love it.”

Somehow, Rose doubted that. The idea of sleeping on the ground didn’t particularly appeal to her. But she let it go — she was seeing the Quidditch World Cup, she couldn’t complain — and after a few more minutes they started down the hill, toward the campsite.

“Are we going to be able to check in this early?” Rose asked suddenly.

“Should be, yeah. We’ve been using this campsite for years, they’re pretty lax. As long as you pay.”

They got to the check-in stand and sure enough there was a man sitting there, nursing a cup of coffee. They checked in and got a map of the campgrounds, and they were off.

“We’re pretty deep in. Consequence of being one of the last ones here.”

“How do they decide who comes when?” Rose asked curiously.

“Depends on how expensive or cheap or tickets are,” Jake said. “Amy got pretty shit — _er_.” He cut off abruptly at a glare from his father. “Pretty terrible tickets, so they’ve been here for like a month. Ben’s family got the cheapest possible tickets so they’ve been here since a week after term ended.”

Rose shuddered. She couldn’t imagine camping for that long. It must have been torture.

They arrived at their campsite, and after a quick look around Mr. Simmonds — much to Rose’s surprise — extracted a far too big canvas bag from his backpack, pulled out his wand, and waved it quickly. The tent sprung out of bag and put itself together.

“ _Wow_ ,” Rose breathed. Mr. Simmonds looked back at them.

“You two didn’t see that. We’re supposed to do it like Muggles.”

“Come on,” Jake said, grinning at Rose, as they followed Mr. Simmonds inside — and Rose’s mouth dropped.

It was _literally_ bigger than the flat she and Jackie lived in. There was a living room area off to one side, and a set of honest to god _stairs_ led up to a second floor.

“Bathroom’s upstairs, along with the bedrooms. Rose you can have the room on the left, that’s the one with one bed. Jake and I can share the bunks.”

“I get top bunk!” Jake said, running for the stairs. Rose followed him, still trying to look around and take everything in.

They slept in for a few more hours — the bed was _surprisingly_ comfortable — and when they woke up the sun had risen and Jake’s dad was making breakfast.

“This is amazing,” Rose said as they ate. She wondered if all magical tents were like this. No wonder people could camp for a month without going mad.

After they ate, Rose and Jake headed off into the campgrounds to find their friends.

“Jake, Rose!”

They’d only been walking for a few minutes when they heard their names being called, and turned to see Ben jogging down the path toward them. “Hey!” Jake said with a grin. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering when you guys were going to show up. How was the trip?”

“I don’t think I like Portkeys very much,” Rose said with a frown, and Ben laughed.

“Yeah, they’re not that great. Come on, come back to my site for a bit, Nat is next door. She made captain!”

That was no surprise, really. “Have you seen anyone else?”

“Amy’s a few rows over with Rory and her sister. Don’t recommend going near them though, Amy and her sister are fighting.”

“About what?”

Ben shrugged. “Rory said they’re always fighting. Rose, I saw your mate John somewhere in my area too, Perry and Toby are closing to the pitch…”

They made it back to Ben’s sight, and Nat was just climbing out of her tent, yawning. They stopped to talk to her for a few minutes, and of course congratulate her on making captain, and Rose decided to go find John while Ben and Jake talked.

She found John and Sarah Jane sitting at a fire. John had his back to Rose as she approached, and she put a finger to her lips when Sarah Jane spotted her to keep her quiet as she approached.

“Guess who?” She said as she tackled John from behind, covering his eyes. He made a surprised noise before straightening up.

“Hmmmm. Must be Martha. Can’t think of _anyone_ else who might be behind me right now.”

“Funny.” Rose shifted to rest her chin on John’s shoulder, uncovering his eyes, and John looked over at her, grinning.

“What’s up?”

“Not much, just got here this morning. You?”

“Been here forever.”

“We’ve been here a month.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. “And it’s not that bad, the tent is bigger than our house.”

Their tent was a _little_ more show-y than the shabby-looking one Mr. Simmonds had set up. It very clearly had a second level on top of it, and looked a bit like small house.

“Ministry isn’t pleased with us,” John told Rose, smirking a bit. “They spend all day running around yelling at people for using magic.”

“Why?” Rose asked curiously. “I mean, I can’t imagine there are too many Muggles camping here.” It looked the entire campsite had been booked out.

“Yeah, but the people running it are still Muggles,” Sarah Jane explained. “And they get suspicious easily. One of them needs three or four memory charms a day to keep him happy.”

Rose winced. “Our tent is nothing compared to what some of the Scottish have done to theirs,” John pointed out, rolling his eyes. “We just have a second floor.”

“A lot of people have decorated their tents on both sides. Team pride and all that,” Sarah Jane said. “And people can’t really resist showing off when we all get together like this.”

“Aren’t you here with Jake?” John asked Rose, raising an eyebrow. “Where’s he?”

“Left him with Ben. They weren’t moving and I wanted to see you.”

John finished eating quickly and Rose dragged him off. They ran into a few people they knew as they walked, and even more people who clearly didn’t know the meaning of “secrecy.”

“That’s the stuff that really makes the Ministry mad,” John murmured to Rose as they passed two small boys casting sparks at each other with toy wands while their parents sipped tea. A man seemed to appear out of nowhere, running to the campsite and yelling at the parents to stop the boys or take them inside.

“In broad daylight!” He was saying as Rose and John walked off. Rose giggled.

A lot of the tents were decorated in moving merchandise, with pictures of the Quidditch teams the occupants represented plastered to the tents. No wonder the Muggles were suspicious.

“…Sorry I brought you!” Rose heard a familiar voice yelling.

“I’m sorry too!” Another voice yelled back. “Can I go home?”

“No, I already bought the ticket, you’re staying!”

They turned around a corner, and Rose saw Amy Pond standing in front of a rather large tent, facing off with a bushy-haired woman while Rory sat by the fire, trying valiantly to ignore them.

“Hi Rory,” Rose said as she approached, ignoring the Pond sisters’ yelling. Rory smiled wanly at Rose and John.

“Hey Rose.”

“What’re they fighting about?”

“Who knows. They can’t really spend more than a couple weeks in close quarters before they start yelling over everything.”

“She started it!” Both Ponds declared at the same time, though Amy lit up when she saw they had visitors.

“Oh, hi Rose!”

“Oh sure you’re nice to her.”

“Shut up Melody.”

“Make me.”

Amy turned back to her sister, and Rory sighed. “One more week.”

“How long have they been fighting?” Rose asked sympathetically as they sat with Rory.

“We’re going on three days now.”

“I think I heard them yelling from my campsite the other night,” John said conversationally, and Rory shook his head.

“Not surprised. We should’ve brought a second tent. I’m pretty sure it’s the being trapped together thing that’s driving them both mad. That and Mel doesn’t really care about Quidditch but Amy made her come anyways.”

“How much could there possibly be for them to yell about?” John asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh when they start going they yell about _everything_. Last night they got into a row about the toy broom Mel broke when she was six.”

“I loved that broom!”

“Oh my god!” Melody threw her hands in the air, clearly done. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Good, don’t come back!” Amy snapped after her as she walked away.

“Maybe I won’t!”

“Good!”

Amy threw herself down next to Rose, pouting for a brief moment before she lightened up and said, “Guess what? I got into Pride of Portree!”

Rory rolled his eyes and refocused on his tea.

They talked with Amy for a bit, and made a hasty getaway when they saw Melody Pond making her way back to the campsite.

“Oh god it’s you,” they heard Amy say as they took off.

“Having a sibling seems too complicated,” John said as they walked. Rose agreed, glad for the first time she was an only child.

* * * * * * * *

The Quidditch World Cup was _amazing_.

England ended up squeaking by a win, five-hundred and twenty to five hundred and ten. It had been touch and go for a while — the Scotland Chasers were on point and the England Keeper really wasn’t that great.

Thank god England got the Snitch.

Rose was positively exhilarated by the end of it. She and James stayed up half the night recounting it, talking about the different moves they wanted to try when they got back to school.

Mr. Simmonds finally sent them to bed, and they got up around nine the next morning to head back to Jake’s place. Rose spent the day there, flying around the backyard on a broom she borrowed from Jake’s dad while she and Jake practiced different maneuvers, and she was finally returned to Jackie after dinner.

“It was _great_ , Mum, absolutely the best oh my god they were amazing, I wanna play Quidditch when I graduate.”

Jackie went pale. Rose didn’t notice.

* * * * * * * *

Rose woke up bright and early on September first, bolting down a quick breakfast before making sure she had everything together and corralling Luna into her carrier. The cat yowled unhappily the entire way to King’s Cross.

“Rose!”

Rose turned to the call of her name the minute she was on platform nine and three quarters, and was nearly barreled over by Martha. Rose giggled as she returned the hug.

“Hey! How are you?”

“I’m good, Mum’s going a bit mental though, had to get away. Trish is starting at Hogwarts and Mum’s having a crisis. Come on, I already got a compartment.”

They got Rose’s stuff into the compartment Martha had secured for them, and hopped back down to say goodbye to their mothers and find John. Little Trish Jones was complaining as her mother clung to her, clearly refusing to let go.

“ _Mum_ , go hug Martha and Leo, come on let me go…”

John arrived with five minutes to spare, and Martha and Rose rolled their eyes as he approached.

“Oh shut up.”

“Martha take care of your sister!” Francine Jones insisted as they got onto the train once more, this time preparing to settle in for a long haul.

Trish Jones, as it turned out, didn’t want to be taken care of. As soon as they were on their way she said, “See you later,” and took off into the hall to make friends.

“Good riddance,” Martha said. “How was the World Cup?”

That, of course, was a terrible question to ask. John and Rose spent half the trip recounting the match, and Martha regretted all her life choices by the end of it.

They got a carriage together once they arrived at Hogsmeade, and separated once they got to the Great Hall. The Sorting commenced, with Trish Jones ending up in Ravenclaw with her sister…

And the school year began once more.

* * * * * * * *

“ _Accio pillow_!”

The pillow quivered a bit, and Rose sighed. “What am I doing wrong?” She whined to Martha.

“I think it’s the wand motion. Like this, watch me.” Martha waved her wand, saying, “ _Accio pillow_!” And the pillow flew obediently to Martha.

“Very good Ms. Jones!” Professor Flitwick said as he walked by them. “Ten points to Ravenclaw! Ms. Tyler you’ll do well to pay attention to her.”

Rose sighed, trying again. “ _Accio pillow!_ ” Nothing.

“Try being a little more confident about it. You sound like you’re _asking_ the pillow to come to you. You have to _tell_ it.”

Rose was just glad she wasn’t the only struggling. Martha was one of three people in the class who had actually successfully managed to cast a summoning spell.

“I’m never gonna get it,” Rose said dejectedly when the bell rang.

“You say that every time you can’t manage a spell on the first try and you always get it in the end,” Martha pointed out. “Just be more confident. We’ll work on it this weekend, what’re you doing Saturday?”

“Quidditch try outs at seven but that’s it.”

“Aren’t you already on the team?”

“Not for me, we need to replace Amy. Nat wants the whole team there.”

“Ah.” They started down the hall together. Martha had Transfiguration next and Rose had Potions, but they could walk together for a bit. “Leo’s trying out for Hufflepuff Seeker this year. I’m not sure how to tell him even I know he’s not good.”

“Maybe he’ll surprise you.”

“He can barely sit on a broom.”

“…Oh.”

* * * * * * * *

Rose, Martha, and John commandeered the Charms classroom Saturday morning after breakfast, Martha pulling out the pillows so they could work on summoning.

“Martha’s right,” John said, a bit distractedly, as he poured over his own work. “You sound like you’re scared of the pillow flying at you.”

“I’m _trying_. What are you doing anyways?”

“Trying to write a schedule. The professors are trying to kill me I swear.”

“Oh that’s right, you’ve got O.W.Ls this year, don’t you?” Martha asked. Rose made a face.

“What’s that?”

“Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Fifth year exams,” Martha explained.

“I’ve gotten more homework this week than I did in an entire month last year,” John muttered.

“It’s pretty much the year you need to decide what you do with the rest of your life. The grades you get on your O.W.Ls effect what classes you can take next year, and certain careers require certain classes.”

Rose blanched a bit at that, turning back to the pillow. She only had one more year to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

That was frightening.

Quidditch tryouts that night took her mind off things, at least. No one was anywhere near Amy’s level, of course, but they finally settled on a fifth year girl, Clara Oswald. She’d definitely been the best out of all of them, even if she _had_ let by an easy shot from Rose.

“We’ll work with her,” Nat said confidently. “She’s got more potential than any of the other idiots who tried out.”

“Definitely better than the one who flew into the ground.”

* * * * * * * *

The next day was nice enough that Rose, John, and Martha took their work outside, settling under a tree. They were close to the Quidditch pitch, and Rose could see Hufflepuff holding their own tryouts.

“Oh god I bet that one is Leo,” Martha groaned as they watched one person flip upside down on their broom and nearly fall. “Please don’t fall, please don’t fall, please don’t fall…”

The person didn’t fall, thankfully, and Martha breathed a sigh of relief when they went to land. Rose looked back at John, who was fervently reading his Potions book.

“Hey John?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you want to do when you get out of Hogwarts?”

John looked over the top of his book, frowning a bit. “I think I want to be a Healer, to be honest.”

“Ooooooooh, me too!” Martha said, and John shot her a smile.

“But you need to have top marks in _everything_.”

“Yeah but you’re practically top of your class already, how hard can that be for you?”

Rose ducked her head, suddenly wishing she hadn’t asked. She was well aware, of course, that she was friends with two of the smartest people in the school. Martha was _easily_ the best in their year, and John was a genius — it wasn’t hard to imagine he was the best of his own year.

And then there was Rose who wasn’t really good at anything.

“Hey, Rose?”

Rose jumped at the call of her name, and looked up to see the team’s new Keeper, Clara, making her toward them. “Hey,” Rose said with a smile, trying to shake off her depressing thoughts. “What’s up?”

“Um, well, I was wondering, are you busy tonight? I wanted to get in a bit of practice, Nat said to ask you since you’d probably be the hardest to play against.”

That helped Rose’s ego for a bit. She grinned, saying, “Yeah, sure. We can head to the pitch after dinner if you want.” Hufflepuff’ tryouts looked like they were going to take a while.

“Oh my god!” Martha yelped suddenly, and Rose jerked around to see her staring at the Quidditch pitch. Another person was in the air now, and hanging off their broom from one handle. “I take it back, _that_ one is Leo.”

That one didn’t fall either, thankfully.

Rose and Clara met in the Entrance Hall after dinner and headed down to the pitch together, brooms on their shoulders. “So you’ve been playing for two years, right?” Clara asked. “I’ve wanted to try out for a while but the only position I’ve ever been interested in is Keeper and no one was gonna displace Amy Pond.”

“She was pretty amazing,” Rose agreed. “You’re really good too, though.”

“I buggered up during tryouts yesterday.” At least she was aware of it. “That’s the other reason I wanted to practice with you, honestly. You were _really_ good.”

Rose shrugged. “I’m alright.”

They retrieved the Quaffle and took off into the air, spending the next few hours practicing. Clara really wasn’t bad — she fumbled a few times, and let a couple of goals past, but no one was absolutely perfect. And she had a knack for reading which way Rose was going to go, even if she feigned and pulled off into the direction at the last minute. That was particularly impressive.

“I think your boyfriend is waiting for you,” Clara called after a while. Rose made a face.

“What?”

Clara pointed down, and Rose looked to see John standing on the edge of the field. “Oh he’s not my boyfriend,” Rose said quickly, trying to ignore the blush threatening to creep along her face. “Just my friend.”

Clara didn’t look like she particularly believed that, but she let it go as they flew down to meet John. “What’re you doing here?” Rose asked curiously.

“I need a break from studying, figured I’d come walk you back to the castle. Gentleman-y and all that.”

Rose rolled her eyes, smirking and steadfastly ignoring the look Clara was giving her.

* * * * * * * *

Rose didn’t get to spend as much with John as she would have liked. He was spending all of his time studying; the only time she saw him was when they all got together to do homework together. Which wasn’t nearly as often as it used to be. Nat was scheduling Quidditch practices every chance she got to try and get Clara up to par, and even when they didn’t have practice, Rose and Clara were working together. They’d quickly become friends, and Rose wasn’t complaining.

But she missed John.

She’d hoped maybe the practices would lighten up a bit after they won their first match of the season against Hufflepuff (Leo Jones was _not_ the new Seeker; Martha had been right when she’d assumed he’d been the person hanging from his broom), but if anything she started scheduling _more_.

“I miss Amy,” Perry complained after one particularly brutal practice. Everyone else grumbled in agreement.

Rose didn’t get to spend any proper time with Martha and John until the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, the weekend after Gryffindor steamrolled Hufflepuff.

“First Butterbeer of the year,” John said as he bought three bottles and and handed one to each of the girls. “Cheers.”

“Cheers!” They said in unison, toasting and drinking. It was nice to just spend time with them for a bit. Rose missed them.

“So I think someone asked me on a date,” John said casually as they drank. Rose nearly choked on her Butterbeer.

“ _What?_ ”

John shrugged. “Yeah, this girl in my class, Lydia. She asked me this morning at breakfast.”

Rose blinked, staring. “Really? I mean, you said no, obviously.”

“Well I was already coming with you and Martha.” He shrugged again.

“But if you hadn’t been would you have said yes?”

John raised an eyebrow at Rose.. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“Of course not,” Rose said quickly, taking a long swig of of her drink and trying to ignore the burning in the pit of her stomach.

Why didn’t she like the idea of other girls asking John out?

* * * * * * * *

Martha confronted Rose during Charms the next day.

“Do you like John?”

Rose stared at her, stuttering for a moment. “I mean…of course I do, he’s my friend.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Martha waved her wand at the broken glass she was supposed to be fixing, saying, “ _Reparo_!” And the glass mended itself perfectly.

“Ten points to Ravenclaw!” Professor Flitwick squeaked. Martha shot him a smile before refocusing on Rose.

“You get all weird about girls asking him out, and you know it.”

“I do _not_.” Rose waved her wand, saying, “ _Reparo_!” And the pile of glass in front of her blew up.

Unsurprisingly, Rose got extra homework that night.

“I bet if _you_ asked him out he would say yes,” Martha said coyly as they left the classroom.

“Well I don’t want to ask him out so I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

Martha rolled her eyes.

* * * * * * * *

Christmas came. Martha went home with her siblings, but Rose and John decided to stay. Most of Gryffindor went home, but Rose was left with a little company in the form of Clara, Jake, and Ben.

“Back from a rendezvous with your man?” Clara asked with a smirk as Rose let herself into the common room, shaking snow out of her hair.

“He’s not _my man_.” Rose rolled her eyes.

“So you _were_ with him. Wait, is that is jacket? Are you wearing his jacket?”

“Yes, he’s my _friend_.” They’d been walking outside together when it had started snowing. Rose had been cold and John had given her his jacket on the way back to the castle. She’d forgotten to give it back.

“So you guys are _really_ just friends?” Jake asked as Rose settled down in front of the fire, trying to warm up her hands.

“ _Yes._ ”

“Mmmhm.” Clara remained unconvinced. Of course. She’d gotten it in her head early on that Rose and John were secretly dating and no amount of arguing could dissuade her.

Rose had thought she’d get a break from that when Martha left for the holidays. Clearly not.

Honestly, it was stupid, the idea of her and John. So stupid. Even if she _did_ have a crush on him — which she didn’t! — he was far too good for her. Too smart.

Rose could barely pull off a simple summoning charm.

Not that it mattered. He was just her friend.

Even if he was too good for that, too.

* * * * * * * *

The start of the term didn’t do much for Rose’s ego. The classes were harder, and Rose saw John even less than usual as he threw himself into O.W.L preparation.

Quidditch practice was the only time Rose actually felt good about herself. Her team loved her, and she flew circles around people. The first match after the holidays was against Ravenclaw, and they won three-hundred to thirty. Rose scored half the goals. She felt _great_ after.

It was the only time she really felt good anymore.

“Maybe I’m just too stupid for this,” Rose said dejectedly during a study session with Martha — John had once again canceled. “Has anyone ever flunked out of Hogwarts before?”

“I doubt it, and you’re not stupid,” Martha said bracingly. “You just get down on yourself too much, you’re great when you actually believe in yourself.”

Rose really didn’t believe that.

* * * * * * * *

Rose didn’t see John at all for nearly a month and a half.

She’d see him in passing in the hall, or at meals, but his nose was always buried in a book. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup again, and Rose wasn’t even sure John had been in the audience to see it.

She tried not to be too bitter about that. She knew he had a lot of studying to do, after all. The O.W.Ls were important. She’d find that out for herself next year.

She still missed her friend, though.

John finally joined Martha and Rose hanging out one Sunday after his exams were finally over. “I never wanna study again,” he groaned as he dropped down beside them.

“How’d it go?” Martha asked. “Was it hard? How do you think you did?”

“Martha I need at least a week before you start grilling me about the exams. I think I did alright, though. Potions was a lot easier than I thought it would be, that’s the big one for being a Healer so I’m glad…”

Rose ducked her head, focusing on her homework. She was sure John had aced all of his exams. He was a genius, after all.

She wondered what would happened if she failed everything. Would they throw her out? What would happen if she didn’t finish school? She knew Professor Hagrid had been expelled and he was a professor now, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

“Rose?”

She looked up again to see John and Martha watching her curiously. “You okay?”

She put on a quick smile. “Yeah, of course. Absolutely fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	5. Year Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose enters her fifth year of school, and things get a little more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

> **Title:** A Drop of Magic  
>  **Rating:** K+  
>  **Pairing** : Rose/Ninth Doctor  
>  **Summary:** Their first meeting wasn't in the halls of the great castle, but in a dusty, forgotten corner of Flourish and Blotts. “Are you bored too?” He asked, and when she nodded he took her hand and said one word: “ _Run_.”
> 
> Read on AO3.

* * *

 

Rose just stared, stunned, at the little gold and red badge in her hand. She wasn’t quite sure how to react it. It wasn’t possible. This wasn’t happening.

But the letter clutched in her shaking hand said otherwise. _She had been made captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team_.

The phone rang, and Jackie went to answer, not even bothering to ask why her daughter had suddenly turned into a statue. “Hello? Oh, sure Martha, one minute — Rose, love, phone for you.”

Rose numbly went to take the phone from her mother. “Hello?”

“ _I was made a Prefect_!” Really that was no surprise, Martha was perfect in every single way. Rose shook herself out of her stupor.

“Oh wow Martha, that’s great! Congratulations!”

“ _Mum’s so proud she’s nearly crying. When’re you going to Diagon Alley? Wanna go next weekend?_ ”

Rose decided not to mention the captaincy. It was hardly important in the face of Martha’s much better news. They made plans to meet at Diagon Alley next weekend.

* * * * * * * *

* * *

 

“I can’t imagine having to shop for _three_ ,” Rose heard Jackie saying to Francine Jones as they made their way through Flourish and Blotts. “One set of books is expensive enough.”

“We’ve been saving for a while.”

“Hey, Rose!” Rose looked up to see Ben Jackson, the Gryffindor team seeker, making his way down the aisle toward them. “Congratulations!”

“What?” Rose said blankly while John and Martha gave her a look.

“Well, I didn’t get the captaincy, Jake didn’t get it, Clara probably didn’t get it, and Nat, Toby, and Perry are all gone so you’re the only logical choice.” Ben made a face. “You _did_ get it, right? ‘Cause Clara is good and all but you’ve got seniority and you’re better.”

“Oh — yeah, I got it.”

“Rose you were made team captain?” John demanded. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s not that important,” Rose insisted.

“Of course it is!” Martha looked positively insulted that Rose had never thought to mention this momentous thing.

“We’re gonna have to basically rebuild the team, this should be fun,” Ben said. “But I knew you’d get it, congratulations, seriously. Jake and I are hooking up in an hour to get ice cream, you guys wanna join?”

They agreed to meet Ben and Jake at the ice cream shop and he left while they finished getting their books. Martha dragged Rose aside while John was distracted.

“What?” Rose asked.

“I didn’t make you feel like the Quidditch thing wasn’t important, did I?” Martha asked. “I know I was excited about being made a Prefect but you still could’ve said something.”

“It’s not a huge deal, Martha, it’s not some huge accomplishment.”

“Neither is being made a Prefect. You could’ve told me.”

“I know I could’ve, Martha, I never felt like I couldn’t.” Rose smiled, pulling Martha into a hug. “Come on, let’s finish getting our stuff. I want ice cream.”

* * * * * * * *

It was weird, starting the first hour of the journey to Hogwarts without Martha. She’d had to meet with the other Prefects first, and had promised to join them soon.

“So how’d you do on your O.W.Ls?” Rose asked John after they had exhausted all their small talk. He’d never mentioned it.

“All Os.” John shrugged.

“What’s that mean?”

“It’s the grading system. O is for Outstanding, that’s the best you can do. E is for Exceeds Expectations, A for Acceptable, and then the failing grades.”

“So…basically you’re saying you got perfect scores on everything?” John nodded. Well that wasn’t much of a surprise. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything about being made team captain?”

The question caught Rose by surprise. She and John stared at each other for a long moment, and Rose was saved from answering by the door sliding open and Martha finally letting herself in.

“Hey! Didn’t miss the trolley, did I?”

She dropped into the seat next to Rose, oblivious to the sudden tension in the air. Rose and John broke eye contact to focus on Martha instead.

* * * * * * * *

Having to replace three team members right out of the gate was _hard_. Rose finally settled on two seventh years — Billy Carlson and Ryan Lewis — for Beaters and a fourth year named Hannah Thomas as their third Chaser.

John was hanging out outside the locker room for Rose when the tryouts were over. “That didn’t look too painful,” he said as Rose approached.

“Yeah, it was alright — oh bugger, hang on, I forgot my bag.”

She turned and ran back to the locker room. She’d been the last one out — or so she thought. Until she turned a corner and found Jake. With Ben pressed against a locker. As they kissed.

“Oh!”

The boys broke apart hurriedly, jerking around to look at their captain. “Hi Rose!” Jake’s voice hopped up several octaves while Ben just stared, wide-eyed. “Uh, what’s up?”

“Um, I just, um. Forgot my bag. There.” She dove under the bench to grab her bag. “Um…don’t be out too late. Don’t want you detention during our first practice.”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, definitely not. See ya later.”

Rose ran out quickly, blinking rapidly. “You alright?” John asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Um. Well. I just caught Jake and Ben snogging.”

“Really?” Rose nodded. “Huh. Well. No surprise.”

“It’s not?” Rose asked as they started walking again.

“Nah, I figured they were dating when we all got ice cream together. They kept kinda…I dunno. _Looking_ at each other.”

“…Really?” John nodded. “Huh. Well.”

* * * * * * * *

While Quidditch was going great, classes were…not going nearly as well. Fifth year meant O.W.Ls, and while Rose had seen how busy John always with schoolwork the year before, it had never quite registered just how heavy the workload was — maybe because John made it all look effortless.

Rose wished she had his brains.

“Do you think they’ll kick me out if I fail?” Rose asked dismally, staring at the piece of parchment on which she was supposed to be writing her Charms essay. How was she supposed to know what she had done wrong during class that day? If she knew _how_ she’d accidentally given Professor Flitwick warts she wouldn’t have done it.

“You’re not going to fail, don’t be stupid,” Martha said, poking her. “You just need to focus a little more.”

“I’m _trying,_ Martha,” Rose snapped without thinking. “We can’t all be geniuses, alright?”

Martha was understandably stunned by that, and Rose instantly felt bad. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes to the table. “I just…I _am_ trying, Martha.”

“I know you are,” Martha said quietly. “I didn’t mean to say you weren’t, I’m sorry.”

They worked for a few more hours, John joining them eventually (he’d somehow gotten roped into tutoring a couple of his fellow N.E.W.T Potions classmates), and Rose actually managed to get a little of her homework done before the library closed.

Then it was back to the Gryffindor common room to continue working. She sequestered herself in a corner while the room slowly emptied out and people who weren’t total idiots went to bed.

“You look like you’re drowning,” a voice said long after Rose had thought she was the last person in the common room. She looked up to see Clara standing over her. Rose made a face, checking her watch.

“It’s almost two a.m. What’re you still doing up?”

“I mean I could ask you the same question but it’s pretty obvious. I’m just getting in, I was a bit held up doing…something.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Doing _what_?”

“Well, a pretty sixth year Slytherin girl, if you must know.” Rose nearly choked as she tried not to laugh. Clara grinned, flopping down at the table with Rose. “O.W.L. year is murder, huh?”

“Have you ever heard of anyone getting kicked out because they failed their O.W.Ls?”

“You’re not going to fail, shush. What’re working on?”

“Transfiguration.” She had an essay do in about six hours.

“…Okay I wouldn’t _necessarily_ trust me to help you with that, but I can try if you want. I think I remember everything I did wrong in Transfiguration last year.”

Rose finally ended up getting to bed around four. Clara stayed up with her the entire time, helping the best she could.

Rose was grateful for that.

* * * * * * * 

Of all of Rose’s classes, Care of Magical Creatures was definitely going best. Rose found herself daydreaming about the hours she got to spend outside at Professor Hagrid’s hut, learning about different creatures. It was the only class she was doing well in anymore.

“Budge up, Rose,” Hagrid said as class ended, and everyone else hurried off toward the castle while Rose just sat there with Bowtruckle. “Better get movin’ don’t wanna be late.”

“Yeah.” Late for Potions. Rose didn’t see a problem with that.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Hagrid asked, stooping down to pick up Rose’s Bowtruckle with a kind of care Rose wouldn’t have thought possible considering the size of his hands.

“No, sir.” Rose turned in her drawing and stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll see you next class.”

She’d only gotten a few steps when Hagrid called after her, and she stopped automatically. “Yes, Professor?”

“I know that look on yer face. See it dozens of times every year. Yer a smart girl, got that? Don’t get so down yerself.” Rose managed a small smile as she turned back to Hagrid and nodded. “Good. Get goin’ now.”

Rose felt a little bit better as she ran back to the castle.

* * * * * * * *

Probably the worst part about being friends with two of the smartest people in school was that they were _constantly_ being asked for help.

 

Martha especially, with her new Prefect status, couldn’t go more than five minutes in the library without being approached by a desperate classmate asking for help with something. Martha was patient and more than happy to help, of course.

But it got a bit tiring after a while.

“Jesus, you’d think you’re a teacher,” Rose muttered as they were interrupted for the fourth time in an hour.

“I’d say she should try to become one but getting a teaching job at Hogwarts is hard apparently,” John said thoughtfully. “No one ever retires. The last Transfiguration professor was here _forever_ before she became Headmistress, apparently. I mean, look at Binns. He _died_ and still hasn’t retired.”

“That must suck for anyone who wants to teach History of Magic,” Martha said as she refocused on the conversation. “Sorry, we know you’re probably more qualified than the ghost, but he has tenure and we don’t even have to pay him.”

Rose snorted loudly at that, and was reprimanded by a loud “ _Ssshhhh_!” from Madam Pince as she walked by.

“She’s another one who’s been here forever,” John continued in a low overtone. “Flitwick too, and Hagrid. They were all working here during the Battle of Hogwarts and they’d been here for years before that. Filch as well.”

“I _wish_ he’d retire,” Rose mumbled. “Thought he was gonna beat me with his broom because I dragged a little mud in the other day.”

“So basically no one ever leaves Hogwarts,” Martha said. “Even if they die that’s not a guarantee their post will open.”

“Imagine if Madam Pince died and her ghost just kept working, though,” John said after craning his neck to make sure the librarian was nowhere near them. “She could just fly through bookcases and tell you to shut it.”

They all thought about it for a moment — and shuddered.

* * * * * * * *

The first Quidditch match of the season was against Slytherin. It was close, but in the end Gryffindor won two-forty to fifty.

To say Rose was proud of her team was a vast understatement.

The euphoria wore off that Monday, of course, when she got back a Charms essay with a _D_ written at the top then melted yet another cauldron in Potions, and was informed that she could be halfway competent if she spent more time studying and less time playing Quidditch.

She was nearly in tears as she left the dungeons, trying desperately to swipe at her eyes and not look upset. She was _trying_ for god’s sake. None of the professors knew that she was up until two, three, four in the morning most nights trying to get her homework done. It didn’t seem matter.

She was just an idiot.

* * * * * * * *

Rose didn’t tell Martha or John about Potions or the failed Charms essay. They didn’t need to know how stupid she really was.

But that didn’t mean both things didn’t weigh on her and keep her awake at night while she stared dismally at the ceiling, trying to figure out what she would do if they expelled her. Maybe she could ask her Head of House? She’d heard something about career consultations later in the year, that would probably be a good time to ask…

“So I got an E on my last Herbology essay and I really just can’t figure out where I went wrong,” Martha was saying as Rose focused on her book.

“Longbottom’s a tough grader.” Thankfully John was there too. “He’s fair though, I’m sure if you talk to him he’ll be happy to explain.”

“I mean, I did, but I don’t really agree with his points—”

“So _what_?” Rose finally snapped, losing her patience. “You got an E, it’s not the end of the world.”

And, while Martha and John just stared at Rose, stunned, she grabbed her book and her bag and stormed out of the library.

She felt bad before she reached the end of the hall, but _honestly_? Martha was upset over an _E_? Rose would have killed for an E. She’d managed an A on her last Herbology exam, which was the best she had done so far that year. And here Martha was whinging over a god damn _E_.

It wasn’t fair.

* * * * * * * *

It probably shouldn’t have surprised Rose when John caught her after Quidditch practice a few days later.

Rose had been avoiding John and Martha since she’d snapped in the library, and while Martha seemed more than happy to let that continue, John had been trying to catch Rose’s eye during meals and always tried to go after her when she left the Great Hall (she always managed to time it so she got lost in a crowd, though).

“Gonna lecture me?” Rose asked bitterly as she shouldered her broom and walked past John, heading back for the castle while he followed behind.

“Just wondering if I can find out what your problem is,” John responded. “You really hurt Martha’s feelings, you know.”

“It’s a bloody _E_!” Rose stopped, whirling on her heel to look at John. “Do you know what I would do to get an E on _anything_? I’m barely surviving this year and she’s complaining an _E_!”

John sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know, and believe it or not she feels bad about upsetting you. You still didn’t have to snap at her, though.”

Yeah…Rose was aware of that.

* * * * * * *

There was a Hogsmeade trip that weekend. Rose went separately from John and Martha and stopped in Honeydukes to buy a dozen Chocolate Frogs — Martha’s favorite snack. She presented Martha with the bag of Chocolate Frogs and quietly said, “I’m sorry I’m a heel.”

Martha regarded her for a moment, then checked the bag and instantly said, “I forgive you. Want the cards?”

* * * * * * * *

Grades continued to be a sensitive subject despite their reconciliation. Martha knew Rose was struggling, and she honestly didn’t want to cause any strife.

But that didn’t make it any easier on Rose when she saw Martha’s Charms grades compared to her own.

It didn’t seem to matter how hard Rose tried. She was just never good enough. And it was awful.

Rose started avoiding John and Martha a bit. She made excuses not to study with them, scheduled extra Quidditch practices, did anything she could to get out of meeting them at the library.

And any time they tried to talk to her about it, she denied it. Just busy schedules, she insisted. They clearly didn’t believe her.

But they didn’t push it either. And Rose was grateful for that.

It was a relief to go home for Christmas, if Rose was honest. She had never thought she’d see a day where she’d be _happy_ to leave Hogwarts, even just for a little while.

Everything was just starting to get too overwhelming. She needed a break.

It was the day after Christmas, and she was lounging on the couch, reading her Potions book — her professor had given her a list of potions to study over break so she could hopefully save her newest cauldron — when someone knocked on the door. She let Jackie get it, figuring it was just a neighbor or something.

“Rose, there’s someone here to see you.”

What? Rose made a face, sitting up. She’d fallen out of her touch with her Muggle friends when she’d started at Hogwarts. Who was here to see her?

It was more than a little surprising to see John standing there in Muggle clothes. “John?” Jackie, she noticed, looked a little less pleased. She really had never forgiven John for taking Rose away from her in Diagon Alley so many years earlier. “What are you doing here?”

He looked unsurprisingly uncomfortable under the glare Jackie was giving him. Poor boy. “I just…well…”

Rose sighed, vaulting off the couch and grabbing her shoes and jacket. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

They left the flat, Jackie glaring after them until they were at the end of the hall, around the corner, and out of sight.

“So what’s up?” Rose asked finally. John shrugged.

“I dunno, didn’t really get to see you much during term, and I wasn’t really doing anything so I thought I’d just hop on the train…”

“And ride two hours to get here?” Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. John shrugged.

“I wasn’t doing anything else.”

Rose rolled her eyes, smiling a little. “How’s your break going, then?”

“It’s alright.” He shrugged. “Not much of a break, been doing a lot of studying.”

“Nerd,” Rose teased. “Do you ever stop studying?”

“Usually when I sleep.” He smirked. Rose gave him a light shove. They made their way outside and across the courtyard. “How’s your break going?”

Rose shrugged. “Mum’s glad I’m home.”

“You getting any more sleep?”

Rose raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been sleeping all term.” How in the world had he known _that_?

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

John rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

Rose dropped her eyes to the ground, frowning just a bit. “It was a long term,” she said finally.

“Yeah, it was,” John agreed. “Are you going to stop avoiding us now?”

“I wasn’t—”

John just looked at Rose, and she sighed. “It was a long term,” she said again.

“Yeah. It was.”

* * * * * * * *

If Rose had thought the second term would be any easier, she was _sorely_ mistaken. If anything it got worse. She finished her first day with piles of homework and overwhelming urge to break down crying. She’d never thought it would be possible to hate Hogwarts, but damn if she wasn’t close.

Her only refuge anymore was Quidditch. She was sure the team wasn’t too pleased with how many practices she was scheduling, but no one complained to her face about it at least.

She tried to study with Martha and John, but it was hard, especially with Martha in full-on panic mode. “We only have a few more months!” She declared as she drew up detailed schedules to account for every second of her day. And Rose’s.

It was really hard not to tell Martha to just bugger off. What did she have to worry about anyways? _She_ was brilliant. _She_ would be fine.

“Martha you forgot to schedule time to sleep,” John pointed out gently as he examined what Martha had written up.

“I’ll sleep in June.”

* * * * * * * *

Rose’s grades were a tiny bit better, at least. She got a few more As, and even an E in Charms. She was still struggling and staying up far too late to get all her work done.

And she was still avoiding Martha and John.

It made sense, to her. She was having a hard enough time, being around them just hurt her fragile ego even more.

They were too smart for her anyways.

“So are you going to Hogsmeade?” Clara asked, flopping down beside Rose. “Oh wait — you’re probably going with your boyfriend, you know there’s a great tea shop—”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Rose sighed. “And no, I’m not going. I have too much work to do.”

“All you ever do is homework, Rose, you need a break.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend to go with?”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Uh huh.” Rose’s eyes flitted to the Slytherin table. The pretty blonde she’d seen Clara with a few times was sitting a couple seats down from John. Clara looked over as well, sighing faintly.

“Falling for people in other Houses sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Falling for people who are too smart for you sucks,” Rose muttered, stabbing her eggs with her fork. Clara looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re plenty smart, Rose.”

“Sure.”

Clara regarded her for a long moment before grabbing her by the back of her shirt and saying, “That’s it, you need a break. We’re going to Hogsmeade, let’s go.”

“Wha — but—”

Arguing with Clara was impossible, though. So Rose just sighed, allowing herself to be dragged to Hogsmeade. It was a little weird, going without John and Martha. Martha had already said she needed to spend the day studying, and Rose had originally told John the same thing. She felt bad now, like she was blowing him off, but there was no time to stop and tell him she had changed her mind.

Or that her mind had been changed for her, anyways.

“Just one Butterbeer, then I need to study,” Rose informed Clara.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘course,” Clara said, waving Rose off. They got to Hogsmeade and headed for the Three Broomsticks. Rose had to admit, he was nice to be taking a step back from the books for a bit and not have anything else to worry about.

“Mind if I join you?”

Rose looked up to see a fifth year Ravenclaw boy she vaguely recognized — Adam something or other.

“There’s plenty of empty tables,” Rose pointed out, and she heard Clara sigh faintly and mutter something about her being thick.

“I could buy you a Butterbeer,” Adam continued as if Rose hadn’t spoken.

“I already have one.”

“She’s not interesting, Mitchell,” Clara cut in. “Run along and find someone else to flirt badly with.”

Adam looked quite offended as he walked away. Rose blinked, looking back at Clara. “What just happened?”

“I’ll explain when you’re older, Rose.”

Rose was about to say scathing…when she saw John at the bar, watching her with an unreadable expression.

* * * * * * * *

John Smith was never one to wear his emotions on his sleeve. But after five years of friendship, Rose had learned to read him.

He’d never say out loud that he was hurt Rose had gone to Hogsmeade with Clara hadn’t told him, but it was obvious in the way he had been looking at her before he’d left the Three Broomsticks, and it was even more obvious by the short way he spoke to her when she actually joined them to study on Monday. And the fact that he left them nearly two hours before the library closed.

“What’s up?” Martha asked, raising an eyebrow. Rose shook her head.

“Nothing.”

Martha made a face, looking back at her book. “You know John likes you, right?” She asked after a minute.

“I mean yeah, he’s my friend, I hope he likes me.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Martha looked up again. “He always gets all weird and broody when you’re not around. Which is a lot, by the way.”

Rose rolled her eyes, trying to focus on her homework again, and Martha made an aggravated noise.

“You two are so bloody _thick_.”

* * * * * * * *

Rose had her career consultation the first week of April. She felt sick as she made her way to Professor Longbottom’s office.

“Hey Rose,” he said pleasantly when Rose knocked on the open door. “Take a seat. Biscuit?”

He offered her the tin, and she took one more to be polite than anything — she felt sick.

“So, first things first. Have you given any thought to what you’d want to do when you’re done with school?”

Rose let out a shaking breath. “I’m…not really sure, to be honest. Quidditch, maybe?”

“You _are_ quite the flyer,” Professor Longbottom said with a smile. “Probably one of the best Gryffindor has had since I was in school. Is that all?” Rose shrugged, feeling awful. She’d spent hours going through career brochures, and nothing had jumped out at her. Professor Longbottom went through a folder on his desk, reading a few notes. “Have you ever considered working with magical creatures?” He asked after a moment. “Professor Hagrid speaks _very_ highly of you.”

Rose’s head snapped up at that, surprised. “He does?”

Professor Longbottom smiled gently. “All of your professors have good things to say about you, Rose. Myself included. I know you struggle a bit sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a good student.”

Rose was too stunned to say anything, and after a moment Professor Longbottom continued. “I know Quidditch is probably your first choice, and of course that’s a perfectly fine career choice. A good friend of mine played as Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies for a few years, she absolutely loved it. But if you’re wondering about other career options, you do have them. Here.” He shuffled around on his desk and found a few brochures, handing them to Rose. “My friend’s brother works with dragons, you know. Drives his family crazy, but he loves it. Give it some thought.”

Rose nodded slowly, taking the brochures. “I will. Thanks, Professor.”

He smiled, offering her the tin again. “Biscuit?”

* * * * * * * *

Between studying and Quidditch, the next month went by fast. Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup, and Rose was thrilled by the success of her first year as captain, but there was hardly time to celebrate.

It was O.W.L. time.

When all was said and done, Rose hardly remembered much of the week of exams. She spent a lot of it panicking and barely sleeping, but at least she didn’t do anything horrible like accidentally Charm an examiner’s nose off.

She saw Martha a few times in passing — the poor girl was constantly buried in a book or scanning note cards so fast it looked like her eyes were going to fall out of her head. Rose didn’t see John at all that week.

Which…honestly wasn’t very different from the last couple of months.

But finally it was done. Rose forgot a couple of the key players in the goblin wars, but by the end of the week and her last exam, she could have cared less about it. She just celebrated with everyone else when the examiner told them to put down their quills, and she hurried out with the crowd.

Part of her wanted to find Martha and drag her off to find John and celebrate.

She resisted that urge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	6. Year Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose enters her sixth year - and of course, nothing is simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so incredibly sorry about the delay. There's been a lot going on lately, including me finally publishing my first original novel. Basically, things have just been hectic. And I am very sorry.

 

“Haven’t seen as many owls lately,” Jackie said as a barn owl landed on the balcony railing. Not Martha’s or John’s — probably her Hogwarts letter.

“Yeah, everyone’s busy this summer,” Rose muttered as she went to retrieve the owl before anyone on the Estate noticed. The envelope was thicker than usual, and Rose’s stomach dropped — her O.W.L. results. The owl hooted before flying off, and Rose made her way slowly back inside. The phone rang, and Jackie went to answer it.

“Hello? Oh, Martha — yeah, Rose just got hers too. Hang on.” Jackie held out the phone to Rose, who took it numbly.

“Hi Martha.”

“ _Did you open it yet?_ ”

“No, I—”

“ _Good, don’t. Let’s go to Diagon Alley, we can open them together_. _I don’t want to do this alone._ ”

Rose wanted desperately to say no — she didn’t want anyone but Jackie to see how horrible her grades were.

Especially Martha, who had undoubtedly passed everything.

“Alright,” she gave in anyways, unable to come up with a good excuse not to go to Diagon Alley with Martha. “Wanna meet at the Leaky Cauldron around noon?”

“ _Sounds good._ ”

* * * * * * * *

Martha was already waiting at the Leaky Cauldron when Rose was arrived. She was bouncing and practically _vibrating_ , clutching the envelope tight in her hand. “Ready?” She asked without preamble.

 _No_. “Yup.”

They found a table to sit down at, each exchanging slightly panicked looks before they ripped open the envelopes and pulled out the two pieces of parchment. One was the book list, which Rose tossed outside without a second glance.

The other was her O.W.L. results.

_Charms — E_

_Transfiguration — A_

_Herbology — O_

_Defense Against The Dark Arts — A_

_Ancient Runes — E_

_Potions — A_

_Care of Magical Creatures — O_

_Astronomy — E_

_History of Magic — A_

“How’d you do?” Martha asked. Rose didn’t say anything. She had passed everything, amazingly — hell she’d even gotten two Os — but she could already guess what Martha’s results looked like and she didn’t really want to compare.

“Alright, I guess…”

Martha leaned over to look, of course. “Rose these grades are great!”

“They’re okay,” Rose mumbled. “How’d you do?”

“Oh — I did alright—”

Rose grabbed her results, skimming them quickly. All Os. Of course. “Come on, we need to celebrate,” Martha insisted. “We both passed, that’s brilliant. Let’s get ice cream.”

Rose honestly just wanted to go home, but she couldn’t say no to Martha. So they headed into Diagon Alley together. “Have you talked to John at all this summer?” Martha asked as they walked along. Rose shook her head. “Yeah, me neither. He’s being all quiet and broody. I’ve written him a couple times and haven’t gotten anything back.”

That didn’t sound at all like John, but Rose really didn’t want to talk about him right then either. “So what happens now?” She asked, completely changing the subject. “I mean, with school and everything?”

“I’m not sure. I think we get new class assignments based on our results—”

“You guys get your O.W.L. grades?” A familiar voice spoke up, and Rose turned to see Clara Oswald coming out of Flourish and Blotts, carrying several bags of heavy books.

“What’s all _that_?”

“N.E.W.T. study guides.” Clara sighed. “Stay sixth years forever, girls. How’d you guys do?”

They all headed to the ice cream shop together, filling Clara in on their grades. “So what now?” Martha asked as they settled down with their cones. “I know people who outright fail don’t move on…”

“Yeah, if you got anything below a D you’re forced to retake the class you failed. Or you can just drop out, I suppose. A lot of professors won’t take students who got As either. Rose, lemme see your grades.” Rose handed over the parchment, and Clara skimmed it quickly. “Binns definitely won’t take you with an A — you’re not missing much, trust me, Jenny went on in History of Magic, said it’s even _more_ boring than the pre-O.W.L. classes. She’s actually dropping it this year, I think. Ballard won’t take you either, but honestly there are very few careers outside of the Ministry that require an N.E.W.T. in Potions. Snayth _might_ take you? She’s a bit fickle about who she lets into her Transfiguration N.E.W.T. class. I got an E and she still didn’t want to take me, but I think that might be because I accidentally hexed her in my third year. Gasper’s an old softy, he tried to take someone in my year who got a T, so you’ll probably be fine there.”

“So I probably won’t be taking History of Magic or Potions this year,” Rose said in conclusion. “Do I get extra classes or…?”

“Nah, sixth years get break periods. Which aren’t as relaxing as they sound, unfortunately, especially if you’re spending every other night at Quidditch practice.”

“What if you passed everything?” Martha spoke up. “I mean, I could move on to everything if I wanted to.”

“You do _not_ want to do that,” Clara said firmly. “I know someone who did that, it didn’t end well. What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?”

“I was thinking about trying to be a Healer.”

“I forget what the requirements are for that, but you’ll probably just be put in the classes that are needed for that. You don’t need things like History of Magic or Astronomy for Healing so you’ll probably be dropped out of those.”

“What do _you_ want to do when you graduate?” Rose asked Clara, and she shrugged.

“Not a clue. Being a teacher would be pretty cool — I heard Flitwick is talking about retiring — but I don’t know if they’d be willing to take someone so young so I might be out of luck there. But Professor Oswald has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Rose felt a little better after the conversation with Clara. History of Magic was her least favorite class anyways, dropping that would be a pleasure. Same with Potions — no more melted cauldrons? Fantastic. Two of her least favorite classes gone right there.

And while she still had no idea what she wanted to do after school, at least she could be reassured any career she wanted wouldn’t include those two subjects.

* * * * * * * *

Rose was nervous as she found an empty compartment, dropping her stuff before hopping off the train. Martha was just arriving when Rose went to say goodbye to Jackie, and Rose pointed her toward the compartment so she could drop her own stuff before she had to go meet the other Prefects.

“ _Honestly_ ,” she heard a familiar voice saying. “You’re lucky you didn’t miss the train—”

“I know, I know…”

Rose looked around her mother, her stomach simultaneously dropping and jumping when she saw John and his aunt. “Hi,” she said quietly as they approached.

“Hey.”

“Greet each other on the train, go on.” Sarah Jane nudged John as the train whistled. Jackie pulled Rose into a quick hug before pushing her onto the train, and John dragged his trunk and owl cage on behind her.

And they were off.

Rose led John silently to the compartment she had gotten for them. She waited for him to get his stuff squared away before letting Luna out to wander around.

And the silence ruled.

Rose was well aware that she and John had left things on a tense note at the end of last year. She’d spent most of the last few months of term avoiding him, and Martha — the difference was Martha was a bit oblivious and had spent most of the last few months of term with her nose buried in a book.

John, however, had noticed.

“Good summer?” Rose ventured after a moment, daring to break the silence.

“Yeah, it was alright.” John shrugged. “You?”

“Same. I um…I got my O.W.L. grades.”

“How’d you do?”

“Passed everything, more or less. Nothing lower than an A.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

They fell silent for a few moments. Rose turned to watch the countryside already flying by as the train sped down the tracks. “I’m sorry,” Rose said quietly after a moment.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Rose sighed. “I know you’re upset I was avoiding you last term.”

“I’m not.”

God he was so stubborn. “ _John_ —”

The door opened then, thank god, and Martha made her way in. “The new Prefects are _idiots_ ,” she groaned as threw herself into the sear next to Rose. “Hey John. Good summer? Of course I’d already know the answer to that if you’d bothered to answer any of my letters.”

John flushed, ducking his head, and Rose choked in an attempt not to laugh.

And for a moment, it felt like everything was back to normal.

* * * * * * * *

“No one is allowed to graduate ever again,” Rose grumbled as she watched the hopeful new players fly around the pitch.

“You… _do_ … realize I’m leaving after this year, right?” Clara asked slowly, and Rose threw a glare at her.

“Fail your classes.”

The tryouts could’ve been worse, all around. They ended up with a fourth year girl, Bill Knight, as their new Seeker, a third year boy, Adam Phillips, as their new Chaser, and two third year boys, Byron Warner and Lyle Moore. 

“Didn’t see your boyfriend tonight,” Clara said as they left the locker room. Rose flushed a bit.

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

Clara made a face. “Something wrong?”

“No.” Rose paused. “Yes. I don’t know.” She ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

“Very cryptic.”

Rose shook her head. “It’s just… things have been… _weird_ with John lately. Nothing really feels _right_ with him.”

“Yeah, I think that happens when you try to pretend you don’t have feelings for someone and you really do,” Clara said thoughtfully. Rose sighed, rolling her eyes. Clara was never going to let this go, clearly. “Yeah, yeah, roll your eyes at me all you want. But I’m not blind, Tyler. I see the way you took look at each other. _Everyone_ sees the way you too look at each other. Jane was convinced you’d be together before he graduated. Ten galleons well earned. I knew you two would be too stubborn.”

“…You’re making bets on my love life?”

“Your nonexistent love life,” Clara corrected. “And yes. But make sure you guys hook up before _I_ graduate. If I have to give Hannah ten galleons, she’ll never let me live it down.”

Rose kicked Clara’s shin.

* * * * * * * *

The first Hogsmeade trip of the year was upon them before long. “What do you _mean_ you’re not coming?” Rose demanded of Martha the night before. They were in the library; Rose could barely see Martha behind her pile of books.

“I have a lot of homework to do, I can’t take any time off,” Martha insisted. “I’ve had nightly patrols and stuff, it’s really cutting into my study time.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I guarantee you’re already farther ahead than everyone else in your classes. Come on, Martha, just come for an hour. _Please_?”

“Sorry, Rose, I really can’t.”

This was what Rose got for being friends with a genius, she reflected bitterly as she tried to focus on her own homework. Now it was just going to be her and John at Hogsmeade tomorrow.

She wasn’t sure why the thought of that made her so nervous.

Rose and John met outside the Great Hall after breakfast the next morning, and headed to Hogsmeade together. The silence was every bit as awkward as Rose had feared it would be, and she silently cursed Martha for ditching them.

“How about a drink?” Rose said finally when they entered Hogsmeade.

“Yeah, that sounds brilliant.” Rose wondered ifs he was imagining things, or if John sounded a little relieved. They ducked into The Three Broomsticks and each bought a Butterbeer, finding a table in the back.

“So… how are classes going?” Rose asked after another few moments of silence.

“They’re good. Hard.” Rose sighed. She should have known she wouldn’t actually get an answer out of him. “Hey, have you see Martha lately? Every time I walk by her in the hall, she’s reading a book and muttering to herself.”

Rose laughed, relived. “Yeah, I tried to get her to come with us today, but she kept saying she needs to study.”

“If there’s one person who absolutely does _not_ need to study, it’s her,” John said, rolling his eyes. “She’ll be one of those people who ends up in the infirmary having a nervous breakdown, I guarantee it.”

“I dunno, she survived our O.W.Ls.,” Rose said thoughtfully.

“N.E.W.Ts are harder. A girl in potions class had a meltdown the other day because her potion was lilac instead of light blue. It’s a hard time.”

Rose snorted into her drink. “That might be Martha, actually.” It seemed like the kind of small thing she would lose her mind about. “No breakdowns for you, I hope?”

“Nah.” John smirked, sipping his drink. “I’m made of stone. How have classes been going for you?”

“Not bad. I’m _really_ glad I got to drop Potions. I’m saving so much money on cauldrons.”

John laughed. “So what _are_ you taking?”

“Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Ancient Runes, Charms, and Astronomy,” Rose said. “It’s a pretty great schedule, actually.”

“All classes you like, at least. How’s it going?”

“Care of Magical Creatures is _great_. A lot of people dropped it, there’s like three people left in class.” Hagrid had told her most people didn’t continue the class past fifth year, with a note of sadness in his voice. He’d practically beamed when Rose had told him it was their loss, though. “Oh, we started working with Kneazles the other day, they’re so _cute_ , one of them looks kind of like Luna!”

Rose didn’t see the small smile John was giving her as she babbled on.

* * * * * * * *

The first game of the Quidditch season could have gone better.

They didn’t lose by _much_ — only ten points, which was the best Rose could ask for considering the circumstances.

But she decided halfway through the game that they needed new Beaters. Byron and Lyle were _hopeless_. They hadn’t been horrible during practice, but apparently the pressure to perform was too much for them.

The clincher was when Byron swung his club, and it slipped out of his hand and managed to hit Rose in the back of the head with it. The Snitch was caught by Hufflepuff just as Rose touched down on the Gounod and collapsed. She didn’t black out, but it was a pretty close call.

Clara took it upon herself to scream profanities at Byron, calling him every name she could think of, while the rest of the team landed to see how Rose was doing. Martha and John arrived a few moments later and refused to leave Rose’s side while Madam Pomfrey came down to repair her cracked skull, muttering all the while about stupid dangerous sports and the schoolchildren who played them.

Rose was allowed to go back to the common room, but her head was pounding so she retreated straight upstairs, Clara following her to make sure she didn’t fall over before she got into bed.

“We need new Beaters,” Rose said as soon as they were up in the empty room.

“ _God_ yes,” Clara said firmly. “Lyle almost nailed me with a freaking Bludger. Told me while we were  changing he forgot what team I was on. How the hell do you mix up red and canary yellow?”

Rose shook her head, and instantly regretted that reaction when the room started to spin. Clara gently shoved her into bed before she could collapse.

* * * * * * * *

Lyle didn’t take it well when Rose told him the next morning that he was off the team. Byron seemed to be expecting it — smart boy considering he’d broken the team captain’s skull.

They held tryouts again that weekend, and ended up with a pair of twins — Henry and Carly Stevens. Rose prayed they worked out better than the last two.

* * * * * * * *

“How’s your head?”

John had joined Martha and Rose to study in the library, and Martha had canceled on them at the last minute, citing Prefect reasons (they didn’t bother questioning that). So it was just Rose and John, together, studying. Things had been getting better since the Hogsmeade trip, but Rose was still glad studying was something they could do in silence.

“It’s alright. Still getting headaches, and I have to go to Madam Pomfrey every day for some kind of potion, but she said I should be alright soon.”

John was quiet for a moment, focusing on his book. “Pretty sure if Oswald had had her wand, she would have cursed the idiot,” he said finally, and Rose snorted. No one was going to forget the things Clara had yelled at Byron any time soon.

“I mean, it was pretty stupid. I don’t really blame her for being angry. _I’m_ angry.”

“I almost cursed him for her.”

Rose looked up from her book, surprised. “What? Why?”

John was focusing hard on his own book, not meeting Rose’s gaze. “I thought you were gonna fall off your broom.”

That didn’t answer Rose’s question at all. “So did I,” she said honestly. There had been an incredibly frightening moment when she had been convinced she was going to lose consciousness, and her only thought had been _Get to the ground_ _ **now**_.

She had been pretty high up when Byron had hit her. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if she had fallen and no one had been able to save her.

They studied in silence for a few more minutes, and Rose looked up to rest her eyes — only to catch, for the briefest moment, John staring at her with a completely unreadable expression. He looked away as soon as their eyes met, leaving Rose to wonder what that had been all about.

* * * * * * * 

“…Okay, fine. I think I like John.”

Clara’s mouth fell open as she just stared at Rose in disbelief. “Be still my fragile heart. You actually said it.”

“ _Shut up_.” Rose rolled her eyes, yanking her robes on. The rest of the team had already left the locker room. It was just her and Clara.

“So what made you finally see the light?”

If Rose was honest, she had been thinking it for a very long time. But it was getting harder to deny.

Especially when she saw the way John looked at her.

“I don’t know.” Rose sighed, shaking her head. “I told you things haven’t really been right with him lately. I just… I don’t know.” That was all she could say. Clara grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder, and they headed out.

“Can I say something, Rose?” Rose nodded. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I saw the way he was looking at you at the game after Byron beaned you with his club. Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t pull his wand and hex Byron. He was furious and he was scared. And don’t get me wrong, we were all angry, but he… looked kind of scary, to be honest. He was really upset you got hurt.”

Rose kept her eyes on the ground as she walked. When had things gotten so complicated?

* * * * * * * *

It was a relief to just go home for Christmas. Rose spent a few weeks with her mother, enjoying, for the first time, being mostly cut off from the wizarding world.

She needed a break from thinking about John.

“Haven’t heard much about that boy lately.”

Of course, nothing was that easy. “Yeah, he’s been pretty busy,” Rose said without looking up from her dinner. “Sixth and seventh years are hard. A lot going on, you know.”

“Right.” Jackie let the topic drop for exactly two minutes. “So how long have you two been dating?”

Rose choked and spluttered on the drink she was taking a sip of. “W- _What_?”

“Oh please, it’s obvious you two are dating. I’m insulted you haven’t told me yet—”

“I am _not_ dating John,” Rose said firmly, still coughing. “Jesus Mum, I don’t know why you would think…”

Okay, she _did_ know why Jackie would think that. It was the exact same reason Clara thought it. The same reason Martha thought it.

Because it was obvious to everyone.

“Alright, Rose. Whatever you say.” Jackie clearly didn’t believe that.

Rose was starting to not believe it either.

* * * * * * * *

There was a Hogsmeade trip a few weeks after they got back to school. Rose convinced Martha to come on this one.

“I can only go for a little while, though, alright? I have a _lot_ of studying to do—”

John gently put a hand over Martha’s mouth, and kept it there as they walked out of the castle.

And for a couple of hours, everything felt _normal_ again. They went to Honeydukes and almost convinced Martha, in her slightly delirious state, to try a Cockroach Cluster, insisting it was just chocolate. They stopped her when she went to put it in her mouth, though. And bought her a pound of actual chocolate to get her to forgive them. They went to The Three Broomsticks to get Butterbeer, and spent an hour there just talking and catching up with each other and laughing.

This was what Rose had missed. The three of them just being _friends_.

* * * * * * * *

“So… did I miss you and John hooking up?”

Rose was starting to get sick of every variation of that question. At least it didn’t surprise her anymore. “What?” She asked tiredly, giving Martha a look.

“I mean, I know I’ve been pretty distant lately, I’ve got a lot going on, but I felt like I would have noticed if you two had gotten together,” Martha said, actually looking up from her book. A sign she was actually invested in this conversation.

“Of course we didn’t get together, what are you even talking about?”

“You two were acting different last weekend,” Martha said. “He kept _smiling_ at you, it was kind of weird.”

“He smiles, Martha.”

“Only around you.” That was news to Rose. “And it was just different. I don’t know. Are you sure you guys aren’t together?”

“Very, very sure.”

“I mean… no offense Rose, but do you think you would have noticed if it happen?”

Rose threw a piece of wadded up parchment at Martha.

* * * * * * * 

The next Quidditch game went a _lot_ better. No one was hit by Bludgers from the Stevens twins, and they managed to beat Ravenclaw one-thirty to fifty.

Rose felt a lot better when they left the field that day.

“Party in the common room!” Hannah yelled as she left, and everyone yelled their approval before following. Rose wasn’t done yet, so she ended up leaving alone a few minutes later.

“That was a pretty great game.”

Rose was surprised to find John waiting for her. “Yeah?” Rose said with a smile. “I thought it was some of my best playing.”

“Definitely the most goals you’ve ever scored.”

He was right, but Rose was a bit surprised he knew that.

They started back to the castle together. “Do you know if Martha even came to the game?” Rose asked. John rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, she came. She tried to read until I took her book away, and she ran right back to the castle as soon as you guys caught the Snitch. I’m surprised she hasn’t snapped yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time.” She had been on edge for a long time now. “Hopefully she can make it to the end of the year and snap at home, though.”

John snorted. “Fingers crossed.”

They walked into the Entrance Hall, and reached their separating point. John would head down to the Slytherin dungeon common room, and Rose up to Gryffindor Tower.

They paused, looking at each other. “So um…” Rose said uncertainly. “I’ll see you later, then?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you.”

He turned to walk away, and Rose, well… later, she’d claim temporary insanity. Really, that was only explanation.

Or that was what she’d tell herself, anyways.

As John turned away, she grabbed his hand, turning back back to her. And before he could question what she was doing, she kissed him.

Later, she would realize that John didn’t immediately pull away, and that he even responded — rather enthusiastically. But in the moment, none of that registered. She realized what she was doing and immediately pulled away, eyes wide and stunned by her own daring.

“I… I um… I…” She stuttered stupidly before turning and running up the stairs, leaving a rather stunned John behind her.

* * * * * * * *

Rose was surprised when Martha ambushed her at breakfast the next morning, dragging her away from the table and out into the hall.

“You _kissed_ John?!”

“…How did you already hear about it?” Rose asked, stunned. The Entrance Hall had definitely been empty when it had happened.

“He told me! He was trying to figure out if something was wrong with him because you _ran away_ right after!”

Rose sighed, tugging at a lock of hair. “Yeah… not my best my moment, I guess.”

“You _think_?” Martha asked in disbelief. “Why did you run away?”

“I… I don’t know,” Rose mumbled, ducking her head. “I just felt so stupid, and I don’t think he really liked it, and I… running seemed like the best choice.”

Martha shook her head, sighing. “Rose, you know I love you, right?” Rose nodded. “Good. Then you know when I say you’re an idiot, it comes from a place of love.”

“…Yeah. I know.” Rose ran a hand through her hair. “I know.”

“Good. Then go talk to him. And stop being stupid, for the love of god.”

“…Yes ma’am.”

* * * * * * * *

Rose sat outside the Great Hall for three hours, waiting for John to come to breakfast. When he didn’t, she went to check the library. He wasn’t there either.

With nowhere else to look, Rose just went for a walk, trying to gather her thoughts. She headed for Hagrid’s hut, thinking a cup of tea would be nice…

And was surprised to find John and Hagrid sitting outside, John petting Fang. He looked up, surprised, when he saw Rose coming.

“Um… hi.”

“Hello,” John sad quietly. Hagrid looked between them and muttered something about food before standing and going inside.

“I’m… sorry I ran away last night,” Rose said when Hagrid was gone.

“Why did you?” Rose knew John well enough to detect the note of hurt in his voice. “Am I that bad of a kisser?”

“ _No!_ ” Rose said quickly — and a little too loudly. “No, you’re not, at all. I just… I panicked a bit. I didn’t think you’d…”

 _I didn’t think you’d feel that way about an idiot like me_. The words died in her throat, however, as John stepped forward, carefully cupping Rose’s cheek and leaning in.

And he kissed her.

“Ten galleons for me!” Rose distantly heard Clara yelling in triumph. She ignored that.

She could deal with people making bets on her love life later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review? And I promise not to go two months without updating again?


	7. Year Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose sets forward for her last year at Hogwarts.

 

“When did John say he was getting here?”

“Around noon, I think.”

“You _think_?” Martha raised an eyebrow. “Right. Because I’m sure you guys haven’t spent every single waking moment writing letters to each other or anything.”

“No, of course not.” Just close to every moment. Honestly, Rose needed to teach him how to use a mobile. John’s poor owl was getting such a workout. Martha rolled her eyes, sipping her drink. They were waiting at the Leaky Cauldron to go pick up their school supplies. John had said he would meet them, but he was running late. Of course.

“He’ll probably be here around five,” Martha said with a teasing laugh. Rose snorted.

“Yeah, his watch probably broke.”

“He Apparated to the wrong place.”

“He—”

“Yeah, you two are hilarious,” John said dryly, and they looked over to see him glaring half-heartedly at them.

“Hi!” Rose said happily, leaning in to kiss him and ignoring the mock-gagging noises Martha made.

“If you two are gonna do this all day, I’m leaving you.”

* * *

 

“Oh _shush_.”  Rose finished her drink and left a few Galleons on the bar. Martha did the same, and they headed out back.

“So what’re you guys taking this year?” John asked as they started down the cobble road and into Diagon Alley.

“Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Martha recited her class list.

“Yeah, have fun with that. You’re going to hate yourself.”

“I already do.”

Rose giggled, and John smiled a bit as he took her hand, intertwining their fingers. “What about you?”

“Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Astronomy, and Charms.” Rose still wasn’t entirely certain what she wanted to do with her life, but those classes were a safe bet for her. And she would have Martha in two classes — the N.E.W.T. classes were so small, they didn’t bother separating by House. Everyone was just tossed in together.

That would be nice.

They ducked into Flourish and Blotts first, stocking up on the books they needed. Martha, of course, had to buy several extras. “Oh, by the way,” she said as they explored the shelves, “I was made Head Girl.”

“What?!” Rose burst out. “That’s brilliant, congratulations!”

She threw her arms around Martha, who laughed. “No surprise,” John said. “You’re practically a saint.”

“Oh I am not, shut up.” Martha rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s check out.”

“Do you guys mind if we stop at the Quidditch store after we’re done with school supplies?” Rose asked as they made their way to the counter. She was hanging on Martha’s arm now, so proud of her friend. “I think I’m going to get a new broomstick.”

“Treating yourself?”

“Something like that.” She was still halfway considering trying for a professional Quidditch career when she was done with school. But also her poor Cleansweep was five years old and on its last legs. It was time to retire it with grace before it sent her plunging out of the air. “I think I’m gonna donate my old one to Hogwarts. It’s still in decent shape, just not good enough to constantly be flying on. It’s better than most of the school brooms.”

“Did I ever tell you about the time an old school Shooting Star threw me off?” John asked, and Rose laughed.

“No!”

“It was my first flying lesson — and last, I refused to take them after that…”

They finished getting their school supplies, and ducked into the Quidditch supplies store so Rose could try and figure out what broom she could afford. The new Firebolt was her dream — Amy Pond had one, and had told Rose it was absolutely _brilliant_ — but it was also _way_ out of her price range. She wouldn’t have any money left for the rest of the year.

Still, she could stop and stare and dream.

“You could just get it,” Martha suggested. “How much money do you really spend when you’re at school?”

“A lot when I go to Hogsmeade.”

“And god forbid you go a year with Chocolate Frogs.”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you really want it?” John asked, and Rose sighed faintly. Yes. Yes she did. It was an amazing, broom and if Rose really went for a Quidditch career after school this would give her such a boost.

But it was too expensive.

“Alright, then.” John scooped up the broom and headed for the counter to check out.

“Wait — what?” Rose gaped, whirling around to hurry after. “John, what the hell are you doing?”

“I think I’m buying a broom.”

“You can’t afford it!”

“Watch me.”

“John, seriously, you can’t,” Rose insisted. It was far too much money. Sure, the price had gone down since it had first been released, but still. It was too much.

“I’m saving a lot of money not being a student anymore,” John assured her as he doled out the Galleons. The fact that he just happened to have that much money on him gave Rose a sneaking suspicion he had planned on doing something like this anyways.

He finished paying, the cashier wrapped up the broom for them, and they left. Rose was a bit of a stuttering mess as she tried to figure out what to say.

“She’s pretty cute when she’s speechless, isn’t she?” Martha teased, and quickly dodged when Rose tried to kick her shin. John laughed as he leaned in to kiss Rose, and she sighed against his lips.

“Thank you. Really.”

“It’s nothing to thank me for.”

Honestly, he was mad.

* * * * * * * *

It was weird, getting on the train without John and sitting alone. Martha, in all her Head Girl glory, had to meet with the Prefects and other Heads first. And of course, John wasn’t there. She had kind of hoped he would come to see her off, but he’d had something else come up at the last minute. He’d come around the night before to say goodbye, at least.

Hogwarts was going to be weird without him.

Rose kissed her mother goodbye and climbed onto the train, heading for the compartment she’d managed to get to herself. She let Luna out and settled against the window, watching as they slowly left the city behind.

It was her last year at Hogwarts.

God, that was so weird to think about. She was seventeen. She was an adult in the Wizarding world. She could take her Apparation test. She’d meant to do it over the summer, but she had no idea how to get to the Ministry of Magic. John had promised to take her during Christmas break.

It was all exciting and terrifying at the same time.

“Blimey,” Martha said with a sigh as she let herself into the compartment. “Being in charge is hard.”

“Yeah, sounds like such a burden,” Rose teased lightly, and Martha laughed.

“I saw the food trolley on the way here, so at least I didn’t miss it. Could you’ve found anywhere _further_ back on the train?”

“I got here late, leave me alone.”

“John’s rubbing off on you.”

They got some snacks for the ride, and Martha broke out a book to begin reading. “Seriously? We’re not even there yet.”

“Rose, have you seen my classes?”

That was fair. Luna nudged at Rose’s ankle and she bent over to pick the cat up. “Did you ever do your Apparation test?” She asked.

“Oh. Um. Yeah.” Rose raised an eyebrow as Martha ducked her head. “Twice.”

“ _Twice_?” Rose had to try not to laugh. The idea of Martha failing at anything was _stunning_.

“Shut up,” Martha mumbled. “I overshot the first time, missed the goal by a couple miles. Mum said it was probably nerves.”

“But you passed the second time, right?” Martha nodded. “That’s all that matters, then.”

“My brother and sister didn’t shut up about it for a week.”

“Well you’ll have to remember that when they take the test.”

Martha laughed at that. “Fair. Ten galleons says my brother Splinches himself.” That seemed to cheer her up considerably.

They changed as they got closer to Hogwarts, and in no time at all they were arriving at the platform. Rose closed Luna back into her carrier and they headed out. They rode up to school together, only separating when they arrived at the Great Hall. Rose felt a little weird, sitting at the Gryffindor table without Clara. She missed her friend.

The rest of the Gryffindor team welcomed her happily, of course, so she wasn’t completely alone.

After the Sorting and eating, the Headmistress stood up, and the Hall slowly went silent. “Welcome,” she called, “to another year! I’m sure you’re all ready for bed, but I have a few announcements to make before we release you to your dorms, starting with staffing changes.

“First, I’m sad to say Professor Flitwick, who has been with us for nearly sixty years, has decided to retire. He’s been a wonderful professor, and we’ll all miss him terribly. However, I’m happy to say we’ve found a suitable replacement, recommended by him, even. Clara Oswald, whom I’m sure many of you will recognize as a former classmate, will be taking over his position.”

“Ha!” Rose burst out as the rest of the team started laughing and clapping. That was _brilliant_. The Headmistress smiled.

“Yes, I’m sure Professor Oswald’s friends are very happy for her. Madam Pomfrey has also decided to retire after this year, after faithfully serving Hogwarts for over fifty years. She’ll be staying on one more year to train her replacement — another recent graduate, John Smith.”

Rose nearly choked, and she heard Martha laughing over at the Ravenclaw table.

Oh that was _too_ good.

A few more announcements, and they were finally released to go to their dorms. Rose pushed her way through the crowd to get to Martha so they could talk before she disappeared to the Ravenclaw dorm for the night.

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell us!” Martha said as soon as Rose was close enough.

“I can. He’s such a dork.” Rose laughed. Martha rolled her eyes, also laughing. Absolutely ridiculous.

* * * * * * * *

Clara and John were at the staff table when Rose got to breakfast the next morning, and she couldn’t quite look at them without laughing. She kept her eyes on the floor and tried not to giggle as she hurried to the Gryffindor table.

Growing up was kind of weird sometimes.

Professor Longbottom came around to hand out the class schedules, and Rose laughed when she saw she had Charms first. Oh _brilliant_.

She hurried over to the Ravenclaw table to meet Martha once she was done eating. “Looks like we have Charms first,” she said brightly, and Martha laughed.

“Looks like we do. We better get going, we don’t want to be late for our first class, do we?”

“Of course not. That would be horrible.”

They got to the classroom and got seats right in front. Clara rolled her eyes when she walked in and saw them. “Don’t start.”

“Don’t start what, Professor?” Rose asked sweetly. “Professor. That’s a good name for you. Professor Oswald.”

“I hope you plan on teasing John just as much as you plan on teasing me.”

“Oh _absolutely_.”

They behaved perfectly once the bell rang, of course. Friend or not, Clara was a teacher now and she deserved respect.

And there would be plenty of time to take the mickey out of her after class. Rose had a free period.

“Hi Professor!” She said happily as she approached Clara after the bell rang. Clara rolled her eyes as she collected her books.

“Alright, Rose, have at it.”

“I would never.” Rose put on an honest smile. “Seriously, this is brilliant. Congratulations.”

Clara smiled a bit. “Thanks. Really. You got a free period? Let’s have tea.”

They walked back to Clara’s office, and Clara waved her wand at a tea pot to start the tea. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Rose asked curiously. Clara shrugged.

“I dunno. It seemed kind of stupid, ya know? Professor Flitwick approached me about it at the end of last year — he knew I was interested in teaching and he thought I’d be good for the job — and I thought he was joking, honestly. I mean, who in their right mind would make me a professor?”

“Hogwarts, apparently.”

“I guess their standards aren’t as high as I thought.”

Rose rolled her eyes, slapping Clara’s arm. “So are you Head of Ravenclaw now, too?”

“I think so, technically. There isn’t much for Heads of Houses to do, though. Professor Longbottom took care of handing out schedules for me this morning since I had a class first thing.”

“Do you think they’d let me keep you as Keeper for the Gryffindor team?”

“I doubt it.”

Rose spent half of her off period with Clara, then hurried to the Hospital Wing. It was empty, of course — it was only the first day, no one was hurt or having a nervous breakdown yet. John was standing with his back to the door, going through a cabinet and checking things off on a clipboard.

“Excuse me, hi,” Rose called jokingly. “I think I need help.”

“Did you fall off your broom already?” John deadpanned without turning around, and Rose snorted.

“Very funny. Come on, why didn’t you tell me you got a job here?” She sat down on the edge of the bed closest to John.

“Wanted it to be a surprise. And I knew you would laugh at me.”

“I would never laugh.” John raised an eyebrow at Rose. “Okay, maybe I laughed a little. Just a little. But seriously, I’m really happy for you.” And she couldn’t deny that she was thrilled to have John here. Hogwarts without John just felt… wrong.

“Ms. Tyler did you fall off your broom already?” Madam Pomfrey asked in disbelief as she came out of her office. John snorted and coughed to cover up his laugh, and Rose blushed.

“No, ma’am. I just wanted to say hi to John.”

Her free period ended far too soon, of course. She kissed John quickly before hurrying off. She had Care of Magical Creatures next.

* * * * * * * *

By the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, Rose was already snowed under in work. She’d thought only taking four classes would make the year a _little_ easier. She should have known better.

“How’d tryouts go?” Martha asked as they made their way down the path to Hogsmeade. Rose had held tryouts for Gryffindor Keeper the night before.

“They don’t make them like they used to.” Rose sighed. “Found a pretty decent one though, I think.” Danny Pink, a fourth year. Honestly, Rose would be so glad when she didn’t have to replace any more teammates. “I still wish I could’ve kept Clara.”

“I don’t think professors are allowed to play in a student game.”

“Well that’s stupid.”

They stopped in the Three Broomsticks first — John had said he’d try to meet them, if he could get the day off from Madam Pomfrey. Rose was excited. She hadn’t had many chances to see John since the beginning of the semester, and she missed him.

John got there about five minutes after they did, and Rose unashamedly lit up when she saw him. “Hey!” She said happily, hopping up to kiss him.

“Making out with a student?” Martha tsk-ed. “That’s just inappropriate.”

“Oh shush,” John and Rose said at the same time, and Martha laughed.

It was so nice to just take a day off and wander through Hogsmeade, and even better to do it hand-in-hand with John. John and Martha spent a lot of time talking about Martha’s classes — he knew her pain, he had taken all the same ones — and Rose was happy to just listen. It still hurt, sometimes, that she wasn’t as smart as them and she never would be. But she was also _finally_ happy with the place she was in.

Besides, she knew John cared about her, even if she wasn’t brilliant like he was. And that was all she needed.

* * * * * * * *

“Do you know _how_ to play Quidditch without getting hurt?”

The first game of the season had been otherwise amazing — they had won two-hundred to twenty. Danny was almost as good as Clara. But a Bludger had caught Rose in the side and broken four of her ribs right before Bill Knight caught the Snitch.

That had hurt like hell.

“Hold still,” Madam Pomfrey demanded as Rose tried to curl in on herself to minimize the pain. John was trying to hold Rose still while the matron took care of the actual healing. “This’ll only take a few minutes, but I can’t do anything if you keep squirming.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Rose mumbled, swallowing hard and ignoring the tears stinging in her eyes. It _hurt_.

Madam Pomfrey healed her up, and left her and John alone to go tend to the Ravenclaw seeker, who had taken a Bludger to the head. Rose took the opportunity to curl up in John’s arms, smiling faintly.

“You’re too danger prone for Quidditch,” John teased, and Rose laughed.

“Apparently. Is it mad I’m thinking about trying to get into it professionally?”

“A little,” John said honestly, but he was smiling. “But being able to say I’m dating a professional Quidditch player would be pretty amazing.”

Rose laughed, tilting her head up to kiss John gently. “Oh, speaking of professional Quidditch players—”

“What segue could you possibly have for that?” John asked. Rose ignored his interruption.

“I got an invitation to Amy’s wedding next summer. Wanna go with me? I’ve never been to a Wizard wedding before, thought it might be fun.”

“How does professional Quidditch make you think about a wedding?”

“Well the invitation came with a note that Amy has a tryout for the England Quidditch team next month.”

“Of course it did.”

* * * * * * * *

“This is it. This is how I die.”

“Stop being so dramatic.”

Martha and Rose had retreated to the very back of the library, piling up their books around themselves so no one would bother them. Rose, amazingly, wasn’t _as_ behind on homework as she could have been — one of the perks of having three free periods a day — but she was still pretty behind. She had an essay due tomorrow for Herbology that she hadn’t even started yet.

And now that she was actually trying to write it, she realized she had no idea what to say.

“Remember me fondly, Martha. Make sure John doesn’t date again.”

“Yeah, sure Rose.” Martha went through her pile of books, frowning. “I think I left my Charms book in my room… do you have yours?”

“Yeah, hang on…” Rose dug hers out and handed it to Martha. “Have you started that essay yet?”

“Doing it now.”

Clara Oswald was a surprisingly strict teacher. They had at least one essay to do a week, and she was a _hard_ grader. Rose had managed A’s on most of hers, and an E in one case, but they were all well-earned grades. Even Martha had gotten an E on one essay. That had been more shocking than any of Rose’s grades.

“Martha, serious question. Are we going to survive this year?”

“Probably not, Rose. Probably not.”

* * * * * * * *

“Honestly, it’s not that bad,” Rose insisted as Madam Pomfrey tsk-ed at her. They had been working with Kneazles during Care of Magical Creatures, and Rose had, unfortunately, gotten a particularly mistrustful one, which had scratched and bitten her arm. She had tried to say that she was fine, and asked Hagrid for a bandage, but he had insisted on dismissing the class so he could walk her to the Hospital Wing.

“It’s not as bad as some of the stuff she’s done to herself,” John piped up unhelpfully as he brought over the magical salve for Madam Pomfrey.

“You’re not helping.”

Rose winced as the salve was wiped on to her injured arm. “I shudder to think what’ll happen when Professor Hagrid breaks out the fire crabs,” Madam Pomfrey muttered with a look in Hagrid’s direction. He smiled sheepishly, and Rose beamed.

“I can’t wait for that.”

A fifth year came in with another professor, who said the poor student had had a small break down during class — no surprise, it always happened during the O.W.L. year — and John was sent off to deal with that, so Rose didn’t get a chance to say bye before her arm was taken care and she left. Thank god it was almost Christmas. John had gotten the time off, and Rose had convinced Jackie to let John stay with them over the holiday.

Rose was excited.

* * * * * * * *

“…Your room is very… pink.”

“Shut up.”

John smirked as he sat down on the edge of Rose’s bed. Rose would admit, she was a little nervous about having John stay with her for Christmas. She knew her flat wasn’t overly impressive, and while she was mostly sure John wouldn’t judge her… it was still nerve-wracking.

Jackie, thankfully, was on her best behavior. It was actually a littles suspicious, how nice she was being to John, considering she had never quite forgiven John for taking Rose away from Flourish and Blotts six years earlier, and subsequently scaring the hell out of Jackie when she realized her daughter was gone.

But Jackie was behaving, and Rose was so grateful for that.

They left the flat early the next morning to go to the Ministry of Magic so Rose could take her Apparation test. She had sort of successfully managed to do it during the lessons they’d taken the year before, but considering Martha had failed her first test, Rose didn’t have much confident in her own abilities.

“You’ll be fine,” John said encouragingly as they walked through the Ministry to the Apparation office. “Just focus. Don’t get distracted. You’ll be okay.”

“Yeah.” Rose’s hand tightened around John’s. “Yeah, I’m sure I will be.”

In the end, it turned out, she _was_ fine. Her landing wasn’t perfect, but the tester said it was still one of the best tests she had seen all day. Rose was flying high as she was given her license, and slammed into John out of pure excitement when she went to hug him. She had done it. She had actually done it.

Jackie was horribly unamused when Rose suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the living room, yelling, “I passed, I passed!”

* * * * * * * *

The first _I love you_ wasn’t a big or dramatic moment. Rose and John were lying on the couch, Rose introducing John to bad nighttime telly while Jackie slept.

It was Rose who whispered the words into John’s shoulder, a little afraid of his reaction. She knew John had feelings for her. She didn’t doubt that they were love.

But it was still a big thing to say.

John looked down at Rose, who only dared to meet his gaze after a long moment. And she knew, as soon as she saw his eyes, that she had nothing to worry about.

“I love you too,” he said quietly, and Rose practically glowed as she kissed him.

* * * * * * * *

“So… what’re you doing after you leave Hogwarts?”

“You know, every time someone asks me that question, I die a little inside.”

“Very funny.” John rolled his eyes. They’d just finished Christmas dinner and were relaxing in Rose’s room, Rose half curled up on John’s chest. He was very comfy to lie on, she had learned. That was pleasing to her. “I meant were you going to move back home, or did you want to get your own place?”

Actually, Rose hadn’t thought much about that. Her main focus on been on her job. “I’m not sure. Why?”

“Well… I was thinking about getting my own place. I mean, I have to live at Hogwarts during the school year, obviously, but I need somewhere to go during the summer and Sarah Jane is kind of sick of me. I thought maybe… if you didn’t want to move back home we could… I dunno…”

“Move in together?” Rose finished the sentence for him, and he ducked his head, blushing faintly.

“If you want to.”

“No, that sounds like the worst thing I’ve ever heard,” Rose said dryly. “Living with you? I can’t even imagine.”

“I’m told I’m pretty insufferable,” John agreed, and Rose laughed as she kissed him.

* * * * * * * *

The next few months passed in a blur. Between studying and Quidditch practice, Rose had no time for anything else. She even had to skip the next Hogsmeade trip, which was heart breaking.

On the plus side, the Gryffindor team was having an amazing season. They won their next game against Hufflepuff, and were getting ready for their final game against Slytherin.

If they could win the Quidditch Cup during Rose’s last year as captain, that would be amazing.

Unfortunately, exams were also approaching, and Rose was trying to split her time the best she could. She was so close to the end — the last thing she wanted to do was trip at the finish line.

“I wonder if anyone’s ever just dropped out,” Rose said one night as she and Martha were working. “What jobs do you think there are for Hogwarts drop outs?”

“Cashier at Flourish and Blotts?” Martha shrugged. “That probably doesn’t require full Hogwarts education.”

“I think I could live with that.” Rose nodded. “That’s not a horrible career.”

Martha rolled her eyes and refused to grace that with an answer. They both knew Rose was just being dramatic.

* * * * * * * *

“WE WON!”

The shout echoed through the Gryffindor common room as everyone screamed and shouted, delighted at the amazing win their Quidditch team had managed to pull off — three-hundred and eight to one hundred. The game had last for nearly four hours.

It had been the best final game Rose could have asked for.

“Three cheers for Rose Tyler!” Someone called. “Best captain ever!”

Rose blushed deeply, ducking her head and busying herself with her drink while everyone else cheered.

The party lasted until nearly dawn, when Professor Longbottom finally came to the common room to tell them all it was time for bed. Rose was still glowing as she collapsed into bed.

She wanted to at least _try_ to get into professional Quidditch, she decided as she finally drifted off to sleep. This feeling was too good to just give up.

Rose woke up a few hours later to John’s owl sitting on her window sill. There as a roll of parchment tied to its leg, with just a few words written on it.

_You were brilliant._

_Love, John_

* * * * * * * *

Exam time came, and went, and Rose didn’t feel completely horrible about herself at the end of it. She would even dare to say she felt she had done _well_ on all of her exams.

It had been a long time since she had felt this confident in something school related.

“It’s _over_ ,” Martha groaned as she and Rose collapsed under a tree, staring blankly at the sky. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s over.”

“I can.” Rose closed her eyes, yawning widely. “Can I just sleep for a week?”

“Absolutely.” There was still two weeks left of term, while the rest of the school took their own exams, and there wasn’t much for them to do besides pack and get ready to leave Hogwarts for the last time.

“So, I’m moving in with John this summer.” Rose hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Martha before now. They’d both been so busy.

“Of course you are. I’m sure I’ll have a wedding invitation by next summer.” Rose rolled her eyes.

“You gonna snark at me, or are you gonna let me talk?”

“Sorry, of course. Continue.”

“Well, I was thinking — and John agrees — he’s going to be gone for the entire school year. I mean, he’ll come home for Christmas and stuff, but once term starts he can never really get away. The flat’s going to be pretty lonely if it’s just me. So we were thinking, maybe… you’d want to move in too?”

Martha blinked, slowly sitting up to look down at Rose. “You want me to move in with you and John?” She asked. Rose sat up as well.

“I mean, we’ll get a big enough place, obviously. We were thinking two or three rooms. Definitely more than one bathroom. You don’t have to, just… ya know, if you don’t want to move back in with your mum, you could have another option.”

Martha stared at Rose for a long moment before her face split into a wide grin, and she practically tackled Rose. They laughed as they fell over in a tangle of limbs.

“So is that a yes?” Rose giggled.

“Shut up. Yes.”

* * * * * * * *

Rose slowly finished packing the rest of her stuff, looking around the now empty the dorm. She couldn’t believe this was the last time she would be in Gryffindor Tower. It didn’t seem possible.

Had it really been seven years?

Martha was waiting down in the Entrance Hall for Rose. She caught up to her, grinning. It was oddly fitting — they had walked through the doors of Hogwarts for the first time together. And now they would leave for the last time together.

“Ready to go?”

Rose beamed as she linked arms with Martha. “Ready.”

The trip back to London went by in no time at all. John was waiting for them when the arrived, and Rose happily kissed him. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then?” Martha asked as she prepared to Apparate. They were going to look at flats the next day.

“Absolutely. Meet at Rose’s place?” John suggested. He was spending the night there.

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow.”

Martha left, and Rose paused to look back at the train one last time. She would never take the train again. She would probably never see Hogwarts again. She had spent seven years of her life at that school, discovering things she never would have thought possible.

And it had been wonderful.

“Rose? Ready to go?”

She looked back at John, smiling as he held out his hand for her. Her time at Hogwarts was done. One adventure was over.

But she had another one waiting for her. And she wasn’t going to miss it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it - that's the end! I hope you enjoyed this story as much I enjoyed writing it, and if you could leave a final review, I would be forever appreciative. Thank you all so much for reading!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Please review?


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